The Sorcerer's Quest
by KandyKate
Summary: Living with a double identity isn't as easy as the Ninja may make it seem.
1. Prologue

The room was pitch black as a couple hid away a small child who was known for unspeakable power.

A young sorceress was only a seven year old child, whose power would be the cause of the world's destruction or the foundation for salvation.

"Come here my little Leena." The mother said as she picked up the small child.  
The child cooed smiled and touched her mothers face, her blue eyes turning a slight shade of purple before it dying out.

The mother slowly kissed the child's head as the father stood by the door, watching them from afar with a small smile.

Leena was never allowed to go out, and play as she was known to the sorcerer to have great power. Anytime Leena was left alone at school, the sorcerer had a monster come for her.

If anyone knew for sure, it was her parents who knew the sorcerer who was locked down below for years and years had plans for her.

She could have been the sole key he needed for his escape.

Determined, her parents weren't going to allow that to happen. They couldn't bear to think of their daughter being used as a tool for evil.

"Momma... can I stay up a little while longer?" Little Leena asked, rubbing her tired little eyes.

The mother laughed softly as she hugged the little one and walked down a hallway lit of candle light. Leena yawned and held tight to her mother.

She knew she wouldn't be able to stay awake a little while longer.

Leena couldn't help but to feel lonely after having hidden from the outside world for so long.

Leena was placed into her bed, and her mother gently kissed her head, singing her a soft tune.

Leena closed her eyes slowly and began to drift off into a deep sleep where her mothers voice softly faded away.

What felt like hours after, a loud crash could be heard from down below, and the whole complex shook.

Leena woke up abruptly. Her heart pounding wildly out of her chest. With shaking legs and honest bravery, she pulled the blanket away from her legs and began to make her way out the room. She ran as far as she could toward the noise.

She stopped abruptly after seeing a tall man in a suit, a black mask, and a red scarf.

Her face slowly twisted in confusion as she looked over his shoulder, her house was completely butchered, her parents both lay in a pool of blood.

Leena gasped, and the man turned around.

Leena hid before he could see her.

She counted in her head as it sounded as he stepped closer.

Leena held her eyes shut, tears still streaming down her face.

In one loud red puff the person was gone.

Leena panted and peeked around the wall, seeing her parents laying lifeless on the ground.

She sniffled as she ran over to them.

"Papa? Mom?" She said through sniffles as she began to touch her mothers face, her fingers now covered in blood.

"Papa! Wake up! Please!" He screamed as she began to pound on his chest.  
Neither of them moved.  
Tears streamed down her eyes, as she placed her head on his chest.

There was no use. She was old enough to know what was going on. Her parents weren't coming back.

A small hiss could be heard from afar and Leena whipped her head up from the sound.

"W-whose there?" She called as a green mist began to surround her.

"Do not cry, child." The deep voice softly cooed to her.

Leena wiped her face and watched as the green mist slowly touched her face.

"Who are you?" She asked, timidly.

The voice didn't reply.

"I have a plan for you..." he said to Leena.

Leena looked around from where the voice was coming from.

"A plan?" She asked, wiping her face.

The voice cackled lightly.  
"Yes... yes." He replied as the green mist slowly began to touch her eyes.

The purple tinge in them began to fade out as voices began to have away at her mind.


	2. Chapter 1

*** 9 YEARS LATER***

I stared at myself in the mirror with a grimace. Ever since me and my Foster uncle moved back to Norrisville, the summer had been a total wonk.

It wasn't exactly my cup of tea.  
I would have much rather stayed in Flackville, but uncle Ned felt that Norrisville had a much more "home" feeling to it.

I would never understand that. This place held way too many bad memories.

Even in some nights I could still see the looks of my parents faces after they lie dead. After they were only protecting me and wrongfully taken from me by the ninja.

Of course I was moved to distant relatives, only having to deal with me from my mental antics and problems at school a lot of the times i found myself moving around a lot.

I was lucky enough to stay with my uncle for this long.  
We seemed to maintain a decent relationship for three solid years.

Of course he never knew about my cooperation with the sorcerer, for he too sought revenge on the ninja.

I was sure Ned had no idea that the sorcerer even existed, but he was well aware of my ability.

I pressed my lips together as I ran a brush through my hair.

I didn't fancy the idea of starting school while it was already 4 months into session.

I knew I was going to make a total shoob out of myself. I was never the one to ask for directions, but on my own I thought my sense of them could be pretty good alone.

I wore my plain white v neck T shirt, and my dark blue skinny jeans and black flats.

Something too casual. All I wanted to do was made sure I didn't stand out. Not after all the things I've heard about Norrisville high school. There was only one reason why I agreed to ditch home school.

I could see a green tint from the corner of my eye.  
I turned my head to my book-bag that was sprawled across the floor.

I sighed and bent over, picking it up. I pulled out my music box and carefully opened it. A small green beam opened, the sorcerers face appeared in front of me.

"I don't start class until another two hours." I said softly. "And even then, I can't guarantee an appearance from the ninja." I stated firmly.

The sorcerer smirked as if to ignore my remarks.

"Do not worry." He snickered, showing his unpleasant teeth.

I rolled my eyes.

"I can guarantee an appearance if you go through with the plan we discussed some time ago... do you remember?" He asked.

I sighed and nodded.

"Yep, shove someone down the dump, get em stanked, ninja shows up. Got it." I replied.

The sorcerer began to cackle as a light of I'm not sure what came into the corner of his eye.

"Excellent." He said softly. "I trust you will not fail me, like McFist?" He mused, his voice starting to catch a tint of anger at his name.

I pursed my lips and shrugged my shoulders.

"We'll see how it goes." I sighed. Before he could say anything, I shut the music box.  
I threw it back in my bag and zipped it.

He was really giving me a headache.  
Ever since he found out that Norrisville was going to be a permanent home for now, it was nonstop summoning.

Both he and McFist were driving me insane. From all honesty I knew McFist didn't fancy me.

I gave him a run for his money, he knew that I was more likely to succeed and wasn't playing around.

He also knew that if it weren't for me, he probably wouldn't even be around. I saved his butt too many times to count.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder began to make my way downstairs.

Ned stood by his kitchen table and took a sip of his coffee and pressed the newspaper closer to his nose.

"Morning." I said softly as I opened the freezer and pulled out a couple of frozen waffles and popped them into the toaster.

Ned looked up from the newspaper and nodded.

"I can't drop you off at school today, counsel meeting starts early this morning." He replied as he neatly folded the newspaper and took another gulp of his coffee.

I leaned against the counter and folded my arms.

"No biggie. I can leave early and catch the school bus." I replied nonchalantly.

He chuckled lightly and placed the mug onto the table.  
He reached over the back of the chair and slid on his jacket.

He gently grabbed the keys from the counter top.

"You think you can do it?" He asked, raising a brow.

I sighed and rolled my eyes as the toasted popped the waffles.  
I turned around, and pulled them from the toaster and onto a plate.

"Come on Ned, its tenth grade... how hard could it be?" I snorted and began to butter them.

He sighed and shoved his keys into his pocket.

"I'll be home a little late. I left money in the wall unit jar for take out." He said softly and began to walk out of the kitchen.

I didn't turn around to watch him leave, I nibbled on my waffles until my stomach didn't feel too well.

I had gotten halfway through them, and I threw them out. I grabbed a kitchen towel and wiped my face before grabbing my sweater and trudged out the door.

I walked down the block, and looked around. I turned the corner and hid into an alley way. I closed my eyes and centered my energy, a blue cloud appeared below me and began to levitate me.

A smirked a bit. After years and years of practice I was able to master it. The cloud slowly dissipated and I soon found myself flipping through the sky, being sure to mask myself in the clouds so that no one below me could see.

I laughed as I landed onto the tree a block away from the school.  
Doing one last flip, I landed onto the ground, and sighed.

Maybe skipping off building in the sky wasn't such a good idea.  
My air collected a lot of moisture and was definitely a little wonked up.  
I grumbled in frustrated and finger combed my hair, to get it to stay flat on my head.

I could see a few students walk pass me as if on cue.

I slowly pulled myself a little further inside myself as I withdrew myself from the crowd around me.

The grimace on my face only grew more as I approached the enormous crowd of awaiting students for the first bell.

The mission was probably going to be a lot more harder than I initially thought.

"Oh well... its only tenth grade... how hard could it be?" I muttered to myself.


	3. Chapter 2

I stood far away in the trees trying to avoid as many people as possible.

I held onto my backpack strap securely to my body. I bit my lip and pulled my hair to one side. Everyone seemed a bit excited to get into school and start the day, although some didn't seem too thrilled.

Yeah, there was a possibility that this was going to be a lot harder then it looked. It wasn't the first day of school for almost all of the kids in the school, so definitely no angst but my own. There was no way in hell the sorcerer could stank me. My magic acts as a barrier for almost anything that can intrude me in some way, whether it'd be voluntary or not.

I rubbed my fingers together, and then nervously ran a hand through my hair.

I scanned my eyes over the crowd for a possible subject to the sorcerer. I squinted upon seeing a small band kid with a triangular instrument hand percussion. I swished my lips to one side as I continued to screen the crowd of student's lingering on the front steps of the school.

"Out of my way, losers!" Someone yelled as they brushed passed a whole group of student's.

My face contorted in disgust. I had wondered if this kid would ever get stanked, or if he was too dumb to understand the emotions of being bummed.

I cracked my knuckles as he bumped passed me, causing me to press a little closer to the tree than I would like to. I glared at the huge boy with a small tinge of magic in my eyes.

I knew that if this kid started throwing me around school, I'd fix him then and there.

Come to think of it, he looked incredibly familiar.

"Come on Bash!" Someone in front of him yelped, as he was tossed aside, a dark skinned male with dark hair.

My gaze snapped back up to the boy who ignored him and continued shoving others out of the way and into the entrance of the school.

Bash...

I knew where I heard that name.

It was Hannibal's stepson.

The kid seemed to be a little short witted... okay seems to be no witted at all. His appearance wasn't all too pleasant either. It was hard to believe Bash was only Hannibal's stepson. They really could have pulled off being biological.

I laughed aloud at the thought, and a few kids looked over to me. I sighed and kept my mouth closed, swallowing hard, and warded them off with my eyes, small streams of purple seeped through them.

I sighed in relief when the first bell could be heard from where I stood, and the group of students slowly started to dissipate within the school.

I reached up and twisted my hair against my shoulder and chewed on the inside of my mouth.

It was show time. I didn't expect to fail, there were plenty of people whom I expected to be subjected into the mission, and I knew that once school was in and orientated, I would find more.

I waited patiently for the crowd to become nearly nonexistent, and only a few students were astray, and then I began to walk toward the front doors.

I twisted my back pack and unzipped it, ignoring the green light that seeped through the screws of the music box. I pushed the box aside, and reached for my binder. I yanked the binder out of my bag, and quickly zipped it shut, before the green light became noticeable.

I inwardly rolled my eyes. I wondered if this guy would ever quit summoning me.

I mean, surely he would know I'm here by now, I had only told him moments ago that I would be here as soon as breakfast was done, and my uncle was up and out of the house... which was all the time.

Just like any other single parent, my uncle was a workaholic, and was always out late. He never knew of my social status because I was always home-schooled. Of course he did find it a bit funny that I opted to ditch home school for Norrisville high-school.

I didn't pay much attention to it. I came up with some lame excuse that a pen pal had told me about it. If he had known about half the stuff that goes on at the school, I was more than sure he wouldn't let me step foot on to the property... yet again, how could any of these parent's continue to?

I was sure it all had to do with the town's beloved McFist.

It was then that I had felt someone brisk by me, causing my binder to be knocked from my hand.

I grunted in disapproval, as I can hear the person screech to a halt. I furrowed my brow and bent over to pick it up.

Before I can touch the binder, a hand in front of me had already gripped it in a swift motion, causing our hands to touch. A little angry that my binder had been knocked from me in the first place, my hand slowly released a small wave of an electroshock, hurting me. I yanked away, and from the look of the boy who attempted to grab it, it had hurt him too.

I grumbled and stood up, just as he did.

I glared at him, as his face contorted in curiosity. I looked up into his blue eyes, trying to keep my anger from showing.

Without another word I firmly took the binder from him.

"Cunningham!" Another voice said, causing us both to look in that directions. There was another boy, well on the heavy side with red hair, calling out toward us.

The boy in front of me, didn't look back as he approached the other.

I whisked my hand, attempting to get the currents to stop coursing through my nerves.

I turned on my heels and began to walk in the other direction. I let my eyes scan for any of the open doors within the halls that indicated the main office. I could really use the class schedule.

It only took a few moments, and classes seem to have started. I ran a hand through my hair, and stopped at the main office.

A small smile crept to my face as my sense of accomplishment seemed to take at me.

I walked in and looked around.

A small blonde woman sat at the desk and looked up at me.

"Is there something I can help you with?" She asked, with a raised brow.

I kept a hopeful smile, and stepped up to the front desk.

"I-I'm a new transfer home schooled student from Flackville." I said firmly and started to bite on my lip again.

"Oh." She said softly and began to type on her computer.

"We have you enrolled but weren't sure when you were planning to start." The woman said with a light chuckle.

I leaned on one side and held my binder close to my body, cocking my left hip to the side.

I wasn't too thrilled to start public school, it was a lot more stressful than home school.

That was a definite fact in my book.

I inadvertently yawned as the woman stood up and walked toward a printer and waited awkwardly.

It started gearing up, and a white sheet of paper slid out. She held it, and then walked back toward the counter, where she began to write on it.

Public school was definitely so much more work.

She slid the paper over to me with a small smile.

"Mr. Perkins, is your guidance counselor." She said softly and pointed to her handwritten print of his name.

"Homeroom will be after your first period, and attendance will be taken from there. When you are done attending all your classes, we'd like you to report right back here to the office."

I pursed my lips and looked at the paper at my first class,

American Literature.

Already a few minutes in school and nothing had even happened. By the things I have heard about this school, I half expected to do any work.

I nodded in response to the woman in front of me.

Her painted nails gently slid down to the first class.

"All of these classes are in order, each class is 45 minutes, and if you should have any questions, your guidance counselor will be available during lunch, and after school to help you." She informed.

I looked at her with narrow eyes.

That was dumb, what If I needed help with a present situation?

I'd half to wait out the whole freaking day.

"All room numbers are correct, and down here..." She said as he finger slid to the bottom of a written foot note."This is you locker number and combination. Do you know how to put in combinations?" She asked.

I inwardly rolled my eyes. I may have been home schooled, but I wasn't stupid.

I kept a small smile on my face and nodded.

"I'm aware."

She pressed her lips together.

"Good. I think that's about it. We usually give student's time to their lockers between classes, before and after school. Transition time between bells is four minutes." She finished, leaning away from the counter and folded her arms with satisfaction.

I looked at her then back at the paper. I opened the binder on the desk, and then slid the schedule into the pocket.

"Have any questions?" She asked with a raised brow,

I zipped close the binder, and then retreated it back to my side.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you." I replied softly with a smile. "I'll see you at the end of the day." I said and then turned around.

I could feel her eyes on me as I exited the office.

I turned the corner and continued to look at my locker number that was written nicely on the bottom of the sheet of paper.

I pressed my lips together as I lifted my head and carefully examined the lockers on the given floor, trying to find mine.

It wasn't long until a green mist slithered past me.

I scrunched my nose at the smell.

"Man, that stank..."I muttered. "Wait... stank..." I looked up and ahead as the mist slithered through the hallway and turned sharply to a corner.

A loud scream could be heard, and a smirk plastered it's way onto my face.

I was right, looks like I didn't have to do the initial work.

It was show time.


	4. Chapter 3

I picked up my pace as glass can be heard shattering throughout the entire school floor.

I slung my back pack over my shoulder, and turned the corner sharply as the fumes started to smell ever worse.

I cringed at the site.  
A student hovered over a small orange head girl who stared at him with wide eyes as he completely morphed into a stanked monster.

I took a few steps back and hid behind a locker as the monster wearing a gray sweatshirt howled and pounded his fist into a locker.

The walls shook, as I decided to lay low.  
It was my first day, and I was still technically training myself. I didn't have any help to reach my full potential. All of that jazz was really up to me  
Sure, the sorcerer wouldn't be too happy that I'd sometimes switch up the plans here and there, but on the positive note, they'd essentially work out for the better.

The girl screamed and ran off to the far end of the hallway, running passed me, causing a few other students on the other side to panic.  
All the screaming was really giving me a headache.

The monster stomped its feet through the hallway as he pummeled after her, his fist flying through every locker door he stomped by.

"Heidi look out!" a screech called as the orange haired girl ducked, dodging an enormous monster fist by the end of the hallway.  
By then teachers had gathered out of the classrooms and the secretary who handed my scheduled was on her hands and knees, attempting to lure the girl, and hide her away.

A small grimace touched my face, as small green streams started to emanate from my back pack. I stuffed it under my arm to hide the light.

I was going to ignore him for now, maybe he'd go bother McFist for awhile.

"WHY?!" The monster screamed as he punched his fist into the wall, this time it getting stuck.

Heidi screamed and cowered in fear as if she was in shock. She didn't seem to be moving or even speaking.

The monster howled, a loud cry ripped through the school.

I sighed, and shook my head.

Sounded like a broken heart. It looked like Heidi here must have ended something that seemed the most important to him.

From what I learned about the sorcerer and how he works, I couldn't help but to wonder how the ninja would be able to fix this one.

I continued to step back and hid behind another set of dismantled lockers, dodging a piece of the ceiling that had broken off and fell in chunks.

I centered my energy and created a sturdy barrier around myself, protecting myself from any matter that can hurt me with a force-field.

A few students can be seen ducking and running, as windows were being shattered by the monsters painful cry.

"Smoke bomb!"

My eyes widened and I whipped my head around to see a puff of red smoke clouding the hallway.

A dark figure stood proudly within the debris, and I felt rage, yet sadness at the same time.

There he was, the ninja who killed my parents. Although his build was somewhat different than what I recalled, I knew it couldn't have been anyone else but him.  
He had been around for over eight hundred years, and I had no doubt he'd be around for many many more years to come.

I cowered and decided to stay low.

The ninja whipped his red scarf around the girl who stared wide at the monster.

The scarf wrapped itself securely around her, and spun her, whipping her into the office, where the teachers, embraced her and locked the door soon after.

The monster cried out once more as it finally broke its hand free from the hole in the wall, his face plastered with more anger than before.

"NINJA!" he bellowed and slammed his fist toward the ninja in which he dodged quickly.  
The monster brought down his other fist, banging both of them as if they were hammers, the ninja dodged them, before he reached behind and pulled out a sword.

My lips pulled to one side.  
His strategy was a little more well kept. From all the stories I've heard, the ninja seemed to be getting better at his work.

The ninja jumped off the opposing wall and bounded towards the monster, doing a quick flip in the air he knocked the monster with his feet onto his back.

The monster howled with rage.

As he rolled onto his back his fist clenched, and he gripped the scarf as the ninja attempted to bounce away.

The ninja choked slightly as he was thrown across the hallway, his body slamming incredibly hard against the dismantled locker next to me.  
I immediately cowered away, my invisible shield growing stronger.

There was a large hole as he grunted in pain. He squirmed, as he slipped out.

He looked up at me for a brief moment before jumping in flips away from me.

My eyes followed him intently as he whisked out his sword again, slashing the back pack of the angry monster.

It didn't seem to phase him as he continued screaming and whacking the ninja, which he completely dodged.

I stood against the floor, my brow furrowing.

He wasn't winning, so maybe there wasn't a reason for me to step in and hide my identity with my enchanted jewelry which was held in the box that the sorcerer continued to summon me in.

I observed his moves with close attention, preparing myself for the fight I was sure we were going to have.

The ninja was once again thrown back a few feet, but landed softly. He stood up tall and rubbed his shoulder.

He was having a hard time, figuring out how to destank this one, I was sure.

The monsters nails grew ever longer as he clasped his hands together. A loud scream could be heard from the boy inside the monster as his wrist slowly cracked, distorting in a propeller like motion. His bones loudly snapped with each movement, I cringed feeling the phantom pains in my own bones.

I wasn't sure if the sorcerer had improved with his own power as well. From the looks of it, it seemed like he learned the power of possession as well.  
Maybe his victims couldn't remember what would happen to them, but surely they could feel the pain as the power of the sorcerer possessed them.

This was going to be the fight of his life, I sure as hell wasn't going to let the monster kill the ninja. That was going to be my job. I slowly stood up and held onto my backpack strap, holding stance and getting ready to step in if I needed to.

The monster raged toward the ninja, his propeller hands rolling faster and faster.  
The bones in it's wrist must have completely shattered, no bone breakage could be heard at this point. Nothing but the cracking of the wind could be heard. He kept stomping toward the ninja, who held his arms out, ready for the attack.  
The air started to pick up as he stomped by me. I grumbled as my hair started to whip around my face.

A loud grunt could be heard from the ninja as he held onto the fists of the monster.

The monster screamed loudly but kept pushing closer.

The ninja was dragged backwards but kept his stance, refusing to give up.  
I slung my book-bag to my stomach, and held onto the zipper.  
I slipped my binder to the ground, as the blood in my veins quickened.

I was going to step in... any day now... any...day now...  
My limbs felt warm and cold at the same time.  
If this monster did anything to destroy him, I would have to live with that bounty over my head.  
Our plan was to lure him out. NOT kill him.  
That was my job.  
This monster was NOT going to kill the ninja. This is MY job.  
I bit my lip as small shocks of anger came through me, and my force-field withdrew itself from me.

The ninja grunted as he attempted to pry the monster away from him.  
With every touch of the wrist, a smile appeared on the monsters face, as a cry from the possessed student emanated.

The ninja recoiled each time.  
He looked up, and in a swift moment, the monster whacked him, sending the frail ninja flying through large glass windows.  
A few of the students screamed in fear as the monster howled and then flung himself through the window to finish him off.

I scrambled over broken class, and threw my body out the window, I gripped onto the window sill, and flung onto a nearby flag poll, and lowered myself on the ground.  
I scowled in slight pain as the blood slowly seeped from my palm.  
Should have thought twice, I cut my hand on glass.  
I whipped the blood from my hand and ran across the school lawn.

As if on cue, the monster gripped the ninja by the torso, and stomped away.

The ninja, slightly dazed shook his head, and started scrambling.

"Ninja airfist!" He yelled and a ball of air whisked at the monsters face causing him to drop his victim.  
The ninja landed on his feet and threw something on the ground, causing it to ice up. The monster turned and slipped on the ice, and stumbled forward.

I looked around and ran over to a nearby tree, slightly slipped on the disheveled dirt.  
I reached into my backpack, and scooted closer to the tree until I bumped into someone. I whipped my head to see the heavy set kid with the orange hair from earlier hiding as well.

I grumbled and glared at him strongly.  
What the heck was he doing out here?

Probably a fan boy.  
I bit my lip, and looked around. Everywhere else was a blunt open space.  
I whipped my head up desperately to the broken window on the first floor.

It was already cluttered with spectators.  
I clenched my fists with frustration.

"Come on...come on..." The boy grumbled as a loud yelping could be heard.  
I looked passed the tree, the ninja was thrown into the school brick outside wall once more.

He was getting poned.  
The monster, began to run towards the ninja.  
I reached down, and picked up a rock, a little terrified that the ninja was struggling to get up this time. His suit had small tears in it, and from the view of his face, he was in a great deal of pain.

Something was up. I couldn't put my finger on it.

From the countless times the sorcerer had failed, the ninja should have had this. This was his thing wasn't it. The stanked monsters should have been the easiest thing for him to handle.

I clutched the rock and with as much strength as I could muster, I chucked the rock as far as I could.  
The rock smacked the monster on the side of his head allowing the ninja to stand up.

I turned around and pushed the kid next to me.

"Go! Get out of here!" I yelled.  
He looked back at me, with a hard look.

"I'm not going anywhere!" He retorted.  
I clenched my teeth.  
I gripped his shirt, and dragged him across the lot, throwing him into the bushes.

"You'll get yourself killed, dingbat!" I spat through my teeth.

I just needed the wonk out of my way.

With a small motion of my eyes, I looked into his. A small spell put him right to sleep, his eyes rolled up, and he fell back.  
I stepped out of the bushes briefly, and next thing I knew, I was being thrown across the lot.

I didn't have a chance to react.

I found myself gliding into the hair, heading straight toward a blue isolated shed.

A small shock of anger and fear began to ripple through my veins, making me extremely uncomfortable.

I still had yet to control that. It hurt me.

I closed my eyes as I prepared myself to hit the wooden shed.

I grunted along with someone else, as I landed into a person, not an object.

The shocks through my body soared and yanked away from the person who caught me.

"Ow!" We both screeched in unison.  
I whipped my head up to get a good look at the person, and grumbled.

The ninja stood in front of me, shaking his hands, trying to get the shocks I sent out of his limbs.

No one asked him to help me, if anyone were to do the saving it would be me for him, not the other way around.

I didn't wait for him to speak. I jumped back and sprinted on my way back to the tree.  
The monster was already hammering his way back toward the ninja, confused as who to attack. He was well aware that I had thrown the rock, which would explain why he threw me across the freaking property.

I reached into the bookbag at my side, and pulled out my music box. The green light slowly emanating from within in.  
I slowly opened it and shook out the jewelry.  
The portal for the sorcerer started to seep through and in a hurry I shut it, not wanting to hear from him at the moment.  
I had other things to worry about right now.

I slipped on the jewelry that hung over my forehead and neck.  
In a moment I took the form of a fairy sorceress.

It did well with hiding who I was.

The monster was already on the ground as the ninja started to run toward him again.  
The monster stood up, and started flailing his wrists once more.  
I flinched, the whirling of the wind started once more, and the loud scream was heard.

I didn't think I like the idea of someone being tortured in this way.  
The monster rolled and the ninja dodged, holding his sword out he bounded over toward him.  
He brought his sword up, and sliced the monster across the face, and even then he seemed hesitant to do so.

The monster laughed, with a hint of the boys scream underneath.

The ninja held onto his head in obvious frustration. There was no way to beat this monster without hurting him. The thing he held most dear to him, wasn't a tangible thing. It was his relationship with that Heidi girl.

I tapped my chin, and looked back at the ninja, who was soon whacked again, speckles of blood staining the grass.

The monster howled once more and charged toward him.  
In a swift movement I bounded over in front of the ninja.

He drew blood, that was enough. I didn't need him dying or critically injured on me.

I centered and focused my energy causing a force field around us. The monsters broken hand slammed into the force.

He yelped and stepped back.  
I turned to look at the ninja staring up at me.

He was a little dazed and was quiet for a moment before speaking up.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice soaked in pain.

I didn't pay any attention to him.  
Holding my hands together, I blasted a ball of energy toward the monster, his body somehow being able to resist it.

This was definitely weird.  
I was starting to think I should have answered the summons of the sorcerer, maybe he was the one who changed the plans on me.

I bounded over towards the monster, flipping over him, my flexible fitting dress whipping through the wind as I twisted over his head.  
I gripped onto his skull and used all the strength I had to lift him up and throw him.  
His body slammed roughly into the ground and he whimpered.

I flipped and landed on his chest.  
I stood on him, he was a lot bigger than I initially thought him to be.

I pulled out my large sword and positioned it over his heart.  
I brought the sword up and before I could plunge it, a red scarf wrapped around my wrist and whipped it out of my hand.  
I watched as the sword landed on the ground, and the ninja was behind me in seconds. He slowly pulled me off the monster who was slowly dissipating back into the boy, who was tattered and incredibly injured. The green mist slowly seeped from his nose and mouth, as the mist began to go through the pipes I could have sworn the color was off.

I sighed as I stepped away the boys arms completely shattered.

I whipped my head toward the ninja who sighed in relief.

"What the heck were you thinking?" I yelled as I turned back toward the ninja.

He peered up at me through his black mask.

"You could have killed him!" He panted, his eyes narrowing.

I rolled my eyes and reached for my sword, tucking it away.  
"Well... from the looks of it. You were getting poned. There was no stopping this guy." I breathed and folded my arms.

"I had to beat it out of him." I chuckled.

"It wasn't necessary. I'm sure there was a way to stop him without shoving a sword in his chest." He retorted.

I snorted and stepped back a little.

"You should be thanking me... I saved your ass." I chuckled.

"I didn't ask for your help." He replied in a monotone.

"Yeah... well you needed it." I said sternly, looking into his eyes.

He did seem a lot different than I had remembered him nine years ago, standing over my dead parents.  
Even his height was a little different too... did people shrink? Maybe it was the suit.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice slightly breathy.

I smirked and pointed towards his face.

"Gonna take off that mask for me then?" I asked softly, my eyes turning to a lighter shade of purple. I twirled my fingers in the air, creating a glowing purple butterfly. It flew toward the ninja softly.

He chuckled lightly as he caught the butterfly. Holding one of his hands over it briefly, he sent it back over. The butterfly slowly turned to a red color and landed on my shoulder, its wings fluttering against my skin.

A butterfly kiss?

"I don't think I can do that. I must remain unknown." He said softly.

I raised a brow.

"Well then I guess we both don't get what we want." I said disapproving. I didn't expect him to remember me from that long ago.

He looked down and then back up briefly.

"That's wonk." He replied halfheartedly.

I pursed my lips, as I bit the inside of my cheek.

"Yeah, I guess it is." I said.

He looked at the boy who groaned, tears streaming down his face.

Sirens could be heard from afar, it grew louder as it came closer to the school.

"It was nice meeting you. I don't think I should expect to see you around right?" He asked, a small laugh hinted In his voice.

I chuckled.

"I don't think so..." I said, my eyes fading back to their original color.

"Smoke bomb!" He declared and a puff of smoke, clouded the area. I groaned and flipped back to the tree, hiding behind it. Concealing myself I pulled off my enchanted crown and returned to my normal self. I threw my garnishments in the backpack and staggered back over to the bushes were the orange head kid still lay asleep under my spell.  
I waved my hand slightly, and undid it, causing him to snap away with a snort.  
By then paramedics were on the scene, strapping the unconscious boy onto the gurney.

"Aw man, what did I miss?!" He asked, standing up, slightly swaying and dazed from the heavy sleep.

I sighed.  
"Pretty much everything... fights over." I declared, stepping away from him.

"Is the ninja okay?!" He asked, his voice growing breathy again.

I pressed my lips together in annoyance.  
His voice was soaked in concern. It made me almost puke about how fans genuinely cared about this guy, completely unaware that this so called hero was a murderer.

I nodded subtly.

"Yeah he's okay." I said softly, purposely leaving out the part where I stepped in to avoid suspicion, although I'm pretty sure everyone who was at the broken window pane watching saw the whole thing.  
I was sure he'd know by tomorrow.  
I didn't know anyone in the school yet, anyone could have been the ninja... well... except the stanked kid, the people I've seen in the hallway, and the boy In front of me. He was under my sleep spell the whole time.

The boy, staggered out of the bushes and bounded toward the school as the medics wheeled away the kid on the gurney. Students spilled out of the school to survey the damage and I kept low, allowing them to become distracted by the commotion.

I slipped behind the school and dug into my bookbag.  
By then the music box was practically screaming at me.

With anger I whipped open the box, the sorcerer's angry expression came into view.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" He snapped.  
I rolled my eyes, I was sure he was able to pick up my scent of magic after I had taken care of the problem.

"The plan was to lure him, NOT kill him." I snapped back. "You leave that to me!"

The sorcerer grumbled in disapproval.

"This is not what was initially planned." He replied, his eyes narrowing.

"You're right... today was a total wonk. You didn't follow through with the initial plan either. I'm well aware we both know what I can do. If you continue this, I will be forced to leave you where you be, and handle this myself. You and McFist will be on your own." I threatened.

His eyes grew more narrower as he growled with anger, the green mist touching my eyes briefly.

I sighed loudly and shut the music box.  
I stuffed it back into my bag.

"Alright students! Even though the first floor hallway is completely destroyed doesn't mean that classes are canceled! Now if we can all get back to class in an orderly fashion..." a tall man in a tan suit called out to everyone.  
I narrowed my eyes.

The principal?  
Are you kidding? This kind of thing was most definitely the norm around here.  
I wonder if parents knew.  
All the kids gathered up, and In single pairs began to make their way back into the school. I tucked the backpack behind my shoulder and snuck in line.

I wondered how Heidi was doing... and what exactly she saw.


	5. Chapter 4

The students had already began to dissipate into the school. Just as it was when the day had started initially.

As I stepped back into the school, the floor was covered in glass. The janitors had already begun sweeping up the glass that had been busted from the window.

I had hoped the blood dripping from the window sill wouldn't come back to me in some way.

I shouldn't have to worry.

I stepped over the shattered parts of the ceiling and turned a corner, to my initial hiding spot to retrieve my binder I had left there.

I picked it up and shook off the glass and dust that it was covered in.

I retreated it back to my side, and began to walk toward the opposite end of the building.

I slowly looked down and inspected my hand from the glass damage earlier and frowned.

My hand was already healed completely, only problem was my skin healed over the glass. I'd have to reopen them later to pull the pieces out.

That wasn't exactly a walk in the park, and it hasn't only happened once.

Heidi stood with a few papers in her hand, her hair had a few strands poking out from behind her ears, her eyes were completely pink, and her face was stained with tears.

I furrowed my brow, and started to approach her.

I stopped dead in my tracks when two boys approached her.

The tall kid I saw earlier and the orange haired kid I spotted outside who was just awoken from my spell.

I grumbled and turned on my heels, my nails digging into the straps of my backpack.

This was going to be frustrating.

I pulled my binder to my face and hid behind it as I read for my first class.

American literature.

Sounded interesting enough. It wasn't the weakest of my subjects but it was definitely tolerable.

I looked at the room number and sighed

It was on the second floor. I decided to skip finding my locker for now. I'd do that before my lunch period.

I turned a few corners looking for the stairways.

When finally finding it, it was cluttered with students already trying to get into their classes.

The principal was on the intercom, assuring students that school should be resumed as if the event never happened.

Some students were spotted crying, apparently the kid that was stanked, meant a lot to some people.

I squeezed through some students, and grumbled as I finally stepped on to the second floor.

I sighed and wandered down the hallway looking for classroom 204, which I knew shouldn't be too far away.

There were teachers standing beside unstable parts of the hallway due to the commotion downstairs.

A lot of students can be heard whispering about the situation.

I tuned them out as stepped in front of room 204.

The hallways began to grow louder and more crowded. I was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic.

I quickly slipped inside.

The teacher sat by the desk, rubbing her temples, her glasses hanging low on her nose.

I stood awkwardly by the door. A few students sat further apart, from each other at their desks.

The teacher looked up at me, her brow raising.

"Are you the new student?" She asked softly. About two students looked up when hearing about the new kid.

I looked up, and tucked a few strands behind my ear.

"Yes." I answered, biting my lip.

The teacher looked through her papers on her desk.

She stood up, and walked over to me, and handed me a packet of papers.

"You can find a seat now." She said sternly, and I inwardly flinched.

People around here seemed grouchy. I wondered if it were only the sophomores that got treated this way.

I looked around and decided it would be best to sit in the back of the classroom.

I slid into the seat and placed my backpack next to my legs, slumping into my seat I placed the packet of papers onto the desk.

I let my eyes scan the paper for a brief moment, and in a matter of minutes the classroom began to clutter with students.

The teacher waited as the intercom was heard signifying that all students should be in their classes.

The teacher pushed her glasses up closer to her face, and folded her arms as the class settled down.

"Okay, class... last week started reading 'Treasure Island." She stated.

A few students leaned against the chair, and some listened intently.

"And for that, a project will be assigned as described on the packets that were given out yesterday. Today I will be choosing your partner." She said softly.

A few groans could be heard in the distance.

I leaned forward with a grimace. I really didn't play well with others. I was usually calm and collected, but usually partnered projects were done outside of class, and having someone in my space until we get this project done, made me nervous.

I didn't mind projects that much, but they were much more tolerable if they were independent.

"Ruu?" The teacher said.

I looked up once my name was called.

A few students craned their heads to look back at me. I could hear them whispering.

I swallowed hard.

"I know you've just started, but I faxed the library for a copy of the book. I should expect you read it during your free time at home. We are on chapter 4." She explained as she folded her arms and walked over to her desk where she pulled out a pen and wrote on a small slip of paper.

I nodded and slumped further into my seat.

She placed the slip into a small black bucket and picked it up and walked to the front of the class and held it up.

"I have written all of your names in this bucket." She announced and shook it.

"The right side of the class on my side, will pick a name from the bucket, and it will reveal your partner for the project for the next three weeks." She explained as she stepped to the first desk.

Great.

The first student picked out a slip and opened it, allowing the teacher as she leaned over to look at her.

"Now if you should pick out your own name, put it back, and try again." She clarified as she stepped to the student three desks away from me. She too picked out a slip of paper, and opened it, allowing the teacher to read it.

It hadn't felt too long until she was able to get to my desk.

I casually slipped my hand into the bucket and pulled out a small slip.

I opened it slowly and flattened the paper out allowing the teacher to read it before I even got to.

'Randy Cunningham.'

I raised a brow and looked around. I didn't know anyone in this class yet. Randy could have been anyone.

I bit my lip and tapped my fingers on the desk as the teacher started to pass the name bucket to the second row.

When she was done, she walked back to the front of the class, and then restarted to the next row.

By then the entire left side of the classroom had the written slips of their assigned project partners.

The teacher retreated back to the front of the class, and turned to us.

"Okay, left side stand up, find your partner." She said.

The left side of the room scattered, and I stood there hopelessly. I had no idea who the person was. Surely this person wouldn't be wearing a nametag that would seem a bit silly.

I held the paper in my hand, and looked to the teacher whose eyes met mine.

She scooted over to me, and leaned over to look at my paper.

"Randy Cunningham?" She said as she lifted her head.

Not a lot of people were paying attention as chatter started up again.

I pressed my lips together.

She craned her neck and looked at me.

"You can sit." She sighed as she slipped out of the row and disappeared into the crowd of chattering students.

I obediently sat down and leaned on my palm as I placed my elbow against the flat surface of the desk.

I pursed my lips and waited.

It wasn't long before a chair pulled out at the desk beside me. I looked over to the thin kid I had seen earlier, his hair dark... maybe a purple color.

He offered a small smile, but it didn't seem to really touch his eyes. He probably wasn't too thrilled about the partnering in this project as I was.

"Are you Randy?" I asked softly, my face being impassive.

He nodded.

"You're new right?" He asked.

I pressed my lips together and nodded.

"Yeah, I moved here during the summer from Flackville. I was homeschooled for awhile before I decided to come here. My name is Leena..." I explained.

He looked at me through narrow eyes. I ignored him for a moment while the teacher was able to assign the rest of the students their partners for the project.

"Where's that Ginger kid you always hang out with?" I asked, bringing my gaze back to him as he stared at me.

Every time I saw him, those two were together.

"Howard? He and I don't have this class together." He explained.

I raised a brow.

"Do you have every other class together?" I asked tapping my nails against the desk.

He shrugged his shoulders as he pursed his lips.

"About three maybe. Things have changed a lot since we were freshmen." He sighed.

I brought my gaze back over to the paper on the desk.

"So what's the project about?" I asked with a sigh, changing the Subject.

This was strict school work time, not lets get to know each other time.

I inwardly slapped myself for immediately bringing up my subject.

Why couldn't I just stick with a name and that's it?

He blew air through his lips and pointed to the paper.

"Uh... I think we're supposed to pick any of the subjects that she listed here. I'd just go with the easiest." He suggested.

I traced my fingers along the list of options with a grimace.

"I'm sure that's what half the class would be going with." I grumbled.

He furrowed a brow and watched as I traced my fingers across several options.

"Is there a problem with that?" He asked timidly, and my eyes snapped back up to him.

"Yes, there is. I really wouldn't want to do what the whole class does. Whose to say all of us gets C's for picking the same thing..maybe there's a chance we'll get an even better grade if we do something different." I said a little more sharply then intended.

Randy recoiled, and watched me softly.

"O-oh okay...?" He sighed and leaned back a little.

I pressed my lips together unsure of how he perceived it. So I decided against apologizing, just in case.

"So I'm assuming this is an out of class project too?" I mused and looked at him again.

He nodded and leaned his elbow against the desk.

"Yeah, as if I didn't already have enough to deal with." He sighed and looked at his own packet.

I ignored his statement and bit my lip.

"So... I think we should go with the report of a real life pirate. I think that would be cool. Maybe we could do a PowerPoint presentation." I suggested.

Randy still didn't seem interested, like his mind was elsewhere and it frustrated me. If he was going to be like this for the project, I would be doing all the work. I wasn't having it. If anyone knew me, I didn't liked being half assed.

"Excuse me?" I asked and snapped my fingers, pulling him out from his trance.

He looked over to me, almost as if he was tired, and frowned.

"I'm sorry." He sighed.

I huffed at him.

"Yeah well... I get you're pretty bummed about this project, and I know this partner thing is ridiculous. But we both need to start pulling the ropes here. The more we stay on topic and start working, the faster we get this over with, and we wont have to deal with each other or this." I rambled, and opened the stapled packet, looking for more information on the project.

Randy remained quiet, and instead looked at me with distaste.

"Everything you've said, was not what I was implying at all. I'm not some shoob, hoping to score a C either. I won't let you do all the work." He replied, and I whipped my head back to him.

"We both will be... as you say, pulling ropes." He scoffed and glared at me.

I glared back at him.

This was going to be the longest three weeks.

I haven't been in school for two hours and I've already made an enemy. To make it even better he was my project partner.


	6. Chapter 5

"When do you go for your lunch hour?" Randy asked, as he slipped his backpack on to his shoulder.

I inwardly rolled my eyes and continued to make my way down the hall.

He grumbled in frustration and continued to follow me.

"Come on... I'd like to get this over with as much as you do." He sighed.

I couldn't agree more. I had thought my first day of school I would be fantastic. I wouldn't have to worry about people bothering me, because I was the new kid. And if it weren't because the class was a huge percentage of my grade I myself would have dropped the project. I didn't like the idea of having to be stuck with someone for three weeks, especially while having to worry about finding the ninja and his true identity.

I stopped to face him, controlling the waves of annoyance that started to make itself tangible in small electroshocks.

I didn't want to shock him again, like I had earlier. By chance he could have mistaken it as simple static, if it had kept happening, he was sure to know something was off about me.

I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and pulled up my binder and carefully read through the schedule that was tucked neatly in the clear pocket in the front.

"Um... lunch is the sixth class for today." I answered, and then looked up at him carefully. I had no idea where the cafeteria was, but I wasn't too sure that I would have a problem finding it. I usually end up finding these things. If this school were at least "almost" like any other school, the direction in which the kids are running would be the direction of the school cafeteria. I wasn't too concerned about the seating arrangements either, although I couldn't help but to wonder if that was just a stereo type or if schools were really like that. I had never attended a public school in so long, and that was only in the first years of elementary. I was always hid away as an embarrassment, always home-schooled, and on the off chance I was able to go out and really enjoy what it was like to be normal, no one really liked me much, except the off friends I would make here and there before I was forced to hide away again.

I shifted my weight as he pursed his lips.

"Okay, then I will see you in the cafeteria, just make sure you have the book. I think we're supposed to use lines from the chapters we've read to describe the real life pirate."He sighed, rubbing his temples.

Guessing he wasn't into the work.

He sighed and brushed passed me, and I held a grimace.

I had to get the book from the library. I had no idea where that was either. I really hated starting a new school. I only had two minutes to get to my next class. If I could find out which floor the library was located on I could easily manage to pick up the book on my way to the next class.

Looking back at the paper that was placed in the clear pocket of the binder the next class was homeroom, and so forth Geometry.

This could be interesting.

I traveled around the hall to my assigned homeroom for attendance.

I stood awkwardly at the front of the door, and then stepped aside as someone shoved me.

"MOVE!" She snapped and stepped into the homeroom.

My face pressed into the wall.

"Urgh." I grumbled with anger as I turned around, ready to turn her into a toad, but was stopped as a boy stepped in front of me. His blonde hair was pale, and he held a triangular hand percussion.

Must be the band kid I saw earlier. He offered me a small smile, his teeth were clenched in braces and I gave a light one back.

"Don't take what she does to heart." He said softly. "She was stayed back this year, and even after almost five months, she still doesn't seem too thrilled about it." He laughed. I couldn't help but to smile a bit too. His laugh was a little goofy.

"She's a bully... maybe someone should teach her a lesson." I snarled, lowly, clenching my fists.

The boy shook his head.

"It's not worth it." He replied, he continued to look me straight in the eyes, and it made me a little uncomfortable.

"Name's Bucky." he stated, and held his hand out for me.

I looked at it for a moment before I swallowed hard and shook it delicately.

"I'm assuming you're the new student everyone in homeroom has been talking about. Your name has showed up a couple times on our attendance list, but you weren't officially starting yet." He said as he stood up straighter.

I frowned at that title.

The new girl.

It wasn't an all too flattering image.

I felt as if it that title was some times an invite for scumbags to push me around, cause I don't know my way around the place. The best example of students pushing me around for being new would be the incident that had only happened moments ago. I suppose she was having a bad year, but I'm sure that wouldn't be something a little wart diseased amphibian couldn't have fixed. I probably would have done it by now if it weren't for Bucky stepping in the way. She should be thanking him for saving her skins.

"How does this homeroom attendance thing work?" I asked as Bucky slowly walked into the entrance of the class, and I followed.

The teacher didn't seem to be in yet, but the girl who pushed me was already in her seat, her feet placed on another chair of a desk,

She didn't seem too nice either, she snapped her gum loudly and looked at me with a sneer look.

This girl must have been miserable, why couldn't the sorcerer stank her, that way I could have an excuse to beat the snot out of her, and lure the ninja at the same time.

Thinking of it, it sounded like a way better plan had I known that she existed earlier.

I turned my gaze away from her and turned my attention to Bucky as he spoke.

"Well all you have to do, is sit at your desk... wait until the teacher shows up with the assignment sheets, you sign and then wait for the next bell." He explained.

I inwardly groaned.

It sounded like a lot of waiting. I felt like I would be wasting time sitting here when I could be doing something else way more important.

"How long does it take for the teacher to get here?" I asked curiously.

Bucky merely shrugged.

"It all depends on the day... some days he's here before we are, and other days he's running a bit late

"He replied.

I slipped my hand to my waist and pursed my lips with disapproval.

"So... when the teacher does get here, we sign our slips and then sit here for the next..." My voice trailed off as I looked at the duration of homeroom.

By then half of the small classroom had been filled, and only a few front seats were remaining.

"Twenty five minutes?" I asked as Bucky, turned and took a seat in one of the vacant desks in front of the class.

I wasn't too fond with sitting in the front. It made me paranoid when I knew someone behind me was looking at the back of my head.

Of course, as the bell rang, I sat next to Bucky without hesitation.

A few kids were talking obnoxiously. I had hoped that as the school year went on I would grow used to this.

I sighed as the teacher walked in with a stack of long slips in his hand. He placed them onto the desk and handed it to the first row.

"Skim through, find your name, and pass it on." He said with a monotone. I think it was safe to assume that no one here was a morning person. I wasn't sure if It was the events that had happened earlier that had everyone in a some sort of grouchy funk.

I tapped my fingers on the desk and peered from the corner of my eye, Bucky pulling out his agenda book, and placed placed a pen neatly beside him.

I furrowed my brow and stood up straighter.

"Are you going somewhere?" I asked curiously, as the row beside me began to sort out their attendance slips. The homeroom teacher didn't take notice of me, which I felt was awesome. I didn't want to draw anymore attention to myself.

Bucky kept his goofy smile, and his eyes softened slightly that concerned me a bit.

"Yes, after attendance. I usually go to the library, to help out around, or to catch up on some homework." He chuckled lightly and rubbed the back of his neck.

I raised a brow, and a small smirk plastered it's way onto my face.

Bingo.

I slumped slightly and smiled a little but more delicately.

"Do you think I can go with?" I asked casually.

Bucky seemed to like that idea as he eagerly nodded.

"Of course!" He chirped as he turned back.

I inwardly high fived myself. I was able to hit two birds with one stone on this one.

I turned with Bucky, as our attendance sheet finally touched our row.

In a hurry, I skimmed through the attendance cards for mine, and Bucky's earning a few groans and complaints from the students behind me, which I completely ignored. None of them knew the things I could do to them. If they had knew, none of them would be treating me the way they are now.

Which is why, I let most of them get away, and be the bigger person to ignore them.

I slipped Bucky his card, and then found mine, and placed it on the desk. I threw the stack behind me, and turned to Bucky as he had just finished signing his slip.

"Hey Bud, can I borrow that pen?" I asked.

"The library is on the second floor. It's not a far walk from homeroom." Bucky announced proudly as he walked beside me toward double doors by a water fountain.

I pulled a loose curl from my neck and smiled.

"Thank you." I said softly, and followed him inside.

The library was like any other typical library that I've been to. Computer desks, and rows and rows of books.

I tucked my binder into my armpit, and strayed a little further away from Bucky as I approached the student that was working at the desk.

"Are you here all the time?" I asked, turning to Bucky who seemed to be getting closer to me.

Bucky laughed,

"Why, yes! It's the best place to go to in the morning!" He chirped with enthusiasm.

I laughed lightly.

The boy at the desk, looked down at the book on his desk.

"Can I help you?"He asked, without looking at me.

I scratched my head.

"Um... I'm supposed to pick up a book... treasure island? The info was faxed by my teacher... my American lit teacher." I explained, placing my hands onto the higher desk.

"What's the teacher's name?" He asked, as he flipped a page in the book he was reading.

I sighed and shifted my weight.

Crap,

I didn't know the teacher's name. I didn't even bother to look.

I pulled my backpack off and searched through it, hopelessly trying to find the packet that was assigned to us earlier in the day in hopes of finding the teacher's name.

No luck.

Randy had my packet.

I pouted as I looked up to him.

"Well... if you don't know the teacher's name, then I can't help you." He said as he continued flipping through the pages.

"She's new... I'm sure there's something you can do for her." Bucky said intervening,

"Please... it's for a project." I said as I looked up to Bucky and then to the kid at the desk.

He didn't react, he continued to flip through the pages of his book.

"Please? This project is half my grade." I said, as I felt small bolts go through me. He was rude and really starting to irritate me. I pouted slightly.

"I'm sorry, but if you don't have the name of the teacher I can not help you." He said, his eyes finally looking up at me.

"But... can't you just look through for the title of the book?" I pleaded, my eyes growing glossy.

Bucky placed a hand on my shoulder, and immediately recoiled in pain, as shocks went through his hands as well.

I really need to learn how to control that.

The boy's eyes softened as he saw my glossy ones.

"I... I'll see what I can do for you..." He replied softly, as he turned to the computer behind him.

I smiled softly as I looked back at Bucky who shook the shocks out of his hands.

"Thank you" I said softly, feeling a little grateful that he intervened.

The boy turned around with a ripped sheet of paper, with numbers written on it.

"The book can be found at these numbers." The boy said as he slipped the paper to me, with a confident smile. I nodded and carefully took it.

"Thank you so much." I said softly, and scanned my eyes across the scratched numbers on the paper.

"Do you need help finding it?" The boy asked, raising a brow, the same cocky smile on his face.

I opened my mouth to answer it, but was cut off by Bucky.

"No... that's okay. I got it." He replied to the boy, and slung an arm around my shoulder, and began to lead me in the opposite direction.

I looked back at the boy who stood at the desk, his arms folding defensively.

I shrugged my shoulders out from Bucky's grasp. It was making me uncomfortable.

That was a little weird.

Bucky seemed to know the library rather well. Almost as if he had spent the entire school day here. Although he came on a little too strong. I was sure he had some friends to hang out with.

"So... you must have a lot of homework to do, if you're here all the time. You seem to know this place quite well." I whispered softly, as we stopped in front of a section of books behind the computers.

Bucky chuckled lightly, his goofy smile returning to his features once again.

He seemed to like the idea that he was the school map. This could have been a good thing or bad thing.

"Well... homework seems to have been piling up this week..." He said his voice trailing off a bit.

"That's wonk." I giggled, trying to lighten the mood.

He paused and traced his fingers across the titles on the spines of the books, clicking his tongue before finally coming to a stop.

"Here you are." He said softly and handed me the book.

I couldn't help but to blush a little, and then carefully took the book.

"Thanks, bud."

I had used the remainder of the homeroom period to catch up on the reading for the project, that way Randy wouldn't have an excuse not to work with me on the project. It wasn't much to read, but I did find it hard at times to concentrate on my work. It had already felt like I was in school for days, and to first few chapters of the book really weren't that interesting. That was the worst part about this project, that I had to create a 12-15 slide PowerPoint presentation with a person I barely knew and liked, based on a book that I had no interest in whatsoever.

I waited until ten minutes before the bell, to begin packing my belongings to head to the next class, which thankfully was on the same floor. I didn't have to worry about traveling far.

I brought the book over to the student at the desk who seemed more than happy to see me. Bucky sat at the table behind me, and I could feel his eyes on me the entire time.

I dropped the book onto the desk and smiled softly.

"I'd like to check this book out." I stated firmly and slid the book over to him. He took the book and turned around to scan the bar-code on the back. He pursed his lips as the return date was being printed.

He folded the piece of paper, and slipped it into the book and closed it.

He leaned against the counter as he handed it over to me.

I offered a weary smile and took it firmly and stuffed it into my bag.

"Where are you headed to?" He asked as I began to zip it up.

I pressed my lips together and raised a brow.

"Um... my next class?" I mused, chuckling a bit. That was kind of a silly question to ask.

The confident smirk from his face was quickly wiped off as his slightly fell. He must have realized that it was either an ignorant question, or perhaps I was the ignorant one, and took it too literal.

Whatever the case may be, neither of us were able to respond or even find out because the bell had started to ring in a matter of minutes.

I smiled at him one last time and turned to wave at Bucky, then quickly pressed my face into the binder peering at my next class. I could feel tension in the air somehow, and felt the need to get out of it quickly.

Math class didn't go as bad as I initially thought it to be, and I sure as hell wasn't looking forward to lunch.

I had received a lot of text books as the classes went on and I still couldn't figure out for the life of me where my locker was. This was mainly because I was too big of a wuss to actually look and take the chance of being late for class. My backpack was really starting to feel heavy on me.

I slumped into my seat as I took a long grimace at the clock. I was in the class before lunch, and I was the least bit ecstatic that I was able to catch up on the boring chapters of the book. I was planning on doing so when at home. I really didn't have much to do at home. I figured keeping ahead on school work would make life a bit easier and possibly more efficient. It would leave a lot of room to study.

I tuned into the teacher's words, that had a lot to do with the reproductive system and STD's, things that I really didn't care about. I was not really sexually active, in fact I haven't been sexually active at all. The whole aspect of sex never really interested me in the least bit, mainly because I knew I would more than likely never get to that point in life. There were always more important things to worry about. It was not like I had never been in a relationship before, I felt that they were a waste of time, and energy. Especially in the sense that they almost never worked out for me. I never got a chance to actually spend time with someone with all my missions and hiding. It was hard to maintain it. That was only half the reason why I decided to give up on them.

I knew this stuff would be important to learn in case that it might be on the test later, but it definitely wouldn't help me In some way in my living. I'd pay more close attention to it later. Right now I only had three more classes not including lunch, and I really just wanted to get the heck out. Nothing else was happening, and no one was getting stanked. The ninja was not to make an appearance anytime soon, and I felt that I was just waiting in agony for the moment I might see him again. I often found myself thinking about our earlier encounter. I had wondered if he even remembered what he did to my parents, and the whole bit of not seeing me around was an act to throw me off. There were so many possibilities and it was all a little too frustrating. I had to preoccupy my mind with something else or I was going to explode and blow my cover.

As if one cue the next bell rang, and in an instant I stood up and shoved my remaining textbooks into my backpack. I slipped it onto my shoulder and stepped out into the hallway.

I stepped out and off to the side to avoid any crabby students who would want to shove me because of their own discrepancies, and I really didn't want to have to bother. I stood close by the door, while I tried to get my own thoughts together.

I paid close attention to some students who seemed to be in a rush.

I slipped out into the busy hallway and flew with the crowd.

I found myself getting lost, but soon quickly found myself again. At the end of the first floor, the cafe could be seen ahead.

The debris was already in the process of being cleaned up. I slumped and stepped over some huge clunks of the ceiling. Teachers stood by almost every other window, directing everyone away from it.

I continued to follow it until I found myself in the cafe.

I really wasn't hungry, and so the smell of the kitchen kind of made me feel queasy in a way.

I slipped off to the side. Everyone seemed to just sit where they want, and I really didn't want to sit anywhere until I saw my AM lit partner.

It wasn't long until I was able to spot Randy entering through the double doors.

I willed my feet to move forward.

His eyes trailed up my body as I stepped in front of him.

His face showed the least bit of surprise. He wasn't too thrilled to see me, as I wasn't too thrilled to see him.

"Oh... hey." He said softly as he brushed by me.

I turned my body and began to follow him. In the short amount of time following him, I was able to spot a table far off in the corner by the window. It was small, didn't seat a lot of people, and most importantly away from everyone and everything. If anywhere in the cafe were to be the perfect place to discuss the project, it would be that table.

I caught up to Randy and gripped his wrist.

"Woah, what are you doing?" He asked as I began to drag him to the back corner table.

"We are going to sit over there, away from everyone. This way we can concentrate better on the project." I explained.

Randy huffed and pointed over to the middle table.

"But I usually sit there. If I sit here how would Howard know where we are?"He complained.

I rolled my eyes and gripped his wrist tighter, ignoring him and continuing to drag him over to the corner table where I wanted us to be.

"Just call him over."I replied, sliding on to the bench of the table.

He slowly yanked free of my grip and pouted.

"But it's so far away from the snack stand." He sighed.

I scoffed, and brought my gaze back to him.

He ignored my remark and started rubbing his wrist.

"It's just a snack stand. Don't get all gushy about it. Stop being a baby." I grumbled.

"You're acting like a total shoob!" He retorted.

I bit my lip and shrugged.

"Oh well." I said shrugging it off.

He grumbled and ran a hand through his hair, and leaned against the table.

"I have caught up on most of the chapters in the library, so we shouldn't have a problem starting this up." I said, trying to get us back on track.

He slowly raised his head and glared at me through weary eyes.

"Have you decided which pirate you wanted to do the report on?" He asked.

I bit my lip, and shook my head.

"I spent my entire homeroom period catching up on the chapters in the library." I explained.

He shrugged.

"Alright, we can always find time after school to research one... one that isn't too...ahem...easy... one we can both agree on." He suggested.

I glared at him through narrow eyes.

He looked up, his lips pulling to one side as something behind me obviously caught his attention.

I turned around slowly.

Bucky stood behind me, his face a little pink and sweaty and he seemed to be breathing a little harder than usual.

"Bucky?" I asked raising a brow.

He smiled and swallowed hard.

"Hey...Leena... can I talk to you for a bit?" He asked, his voice squeaky and nasally.

I scratched the side of my neck nervously.

"I'm kinda in the middle of something right now." I chuckled nervously, and looked away from him.

My eyes traced back to Randy who stared at Bucky, and then back at me curiously.

"Please Leena, it'll be quick." He replied.

I slumped, this kid really didn't get the hint did he?

"If you have something to say, just say it quick right now. Randy and I have a project we really need to start working on." I explained.

Bucky's face grew to a darker shade of pink, and he wiped the sweat from his face.

"I would like to ask you out..." He stated in a breathy voice.

My eyes widened, and the blood rushed to my face.

"Oh.." Both Randy and I choked out..

I nearly choked on my spit as I rubbed my cheek.

"Oh... um... I don't know Bucky... we've only met this morning... I still have yet to know you, so I'll have to think about it." I replied, as soft as I could.

Bucky blinked a few times, his eyes seemed a little dazed as he let my words sink in. After a short moment, he nodded in understanding.

"Oh, it's okay. I understand. I would like to get to know you better. I'm sure I'll see you around?" He asked, as his smile remained hopeful but still nervous at the same time.

"Of course." I breathed out.

Bucky waved, and slowly turned. He slowly walked away and disappeared into the crowd of kids.

I groaned and shook my head. I slowly turned to face Randy who looked at me with a raised brow.

"Wow... that was... interesting..." He said, looking at me again.

I sighed and shrugged it off.

"Whatever." I muttered. "Let's get back on topic."

I knew it must have took Bucky a lot of courage to do something like that, but as I said before, I wasn't really into dating, and if I were, Bucky would not really be my type.

Randy tapped his chin.

"Okay...?" He said as his eyes trailed up once more.

I furrowed my brow.

"What is It now?" I muttered as I turned and saw library desk boy approaching me.

This couldn't be happening, this had to be some kind of joke.

I felt my face grow to a deeper red and looked at Randy who seemed a bit annoyed with the interruptions.

The boy smiled and approached me.

Unlike Bucky who stood in front of me, this boy actually slid onto the bench with me.

He maintained a cocky smile as he leaned on to the table with his elbow.

"I didn't really get a name." He said softly,

I bit my lip.

"Um... I'm Leena..." I replied, looking to Randy who hand his head in his hands.

"Well...Leena..." The boy rasped as he shifted his weight. "I was hoping you and I would get together some time tonight." He suggested, his brows wriggling.

I widened my eyes. I had to turn another one down? What was happening?

"Um-"

"She can't do anything tonight. She's working on an out of school assignment with me all day after school" Randy cut in.

His eyes snapped back up to me. "Now can we seriously get back on to the subject here? I'm missing my lunch for this." He grumbled.

I glared at Randy.

The boy cleared his throat and swallowed.

"Oh... Okay..." He said his voice trailing off. His cocky smile was never wiped from his face.

"Well... then I hope to see you tomorrow morning during homeroom?"he asked raising a brow.

I bit my lip and blushed,

"M-maybe." I answered in a breathy tone.

What was that?

He nodded and winked, before he slid off the bench and stood up. With one small wave he too soon disappeared into the crowd of the cafe.

I whipped my head back to Randy whose eyes met with mine.

'I didn't need your help." I snapped, referring to the incident.

Randy shook his head.

"Who says I was helping you? You were the one lecturing to stay on topic. That's all I was doing." He defended.

I growled and ran a hand through my hair.

"That's it! I want a new partner!" I snapped and stood up sharply.

Randy glared at me through narrow eyes.

"I couldn't agree more! I'll get right on that!" He argued as he slipped his backpack strap onto his shoulder.

I chuckled.

"Not if I get to it first." I snorted.

I would be the one replacing him, not the other way around. No one replaces me.

Randy started to walk briskly toward the double doors.

"We'll see about that."He said with one last look to me.


	7. Chapter 6

Randy grabbed a handful of his hair and sighed deeply.

I stood beside him with my arms folded tightly in disappointment.

"I'm sorry guys." The teacher said while looking up at us.

"Are you sure there isn't anything you can do Ms. Detrich?" Randy asked, his voice desperate.

I glared at him.

He made it seem like I was toxic to be around. It was kind of insulting.

I rolled my eyes at him.

Ms. D sighed and shook her head.

"All partners have been assigned, we aren't changing them."she said stubbornly as she looked down back on to the desk, continuing to mark papers.

I groaned and bit my lip.

From her body language there was no getting through to her.

Randy shook his head and walked out the classroom.

I stood behind sheepishly and looked at the teacher who watched him leave.

She sighed and turned her neck towards me.

"Lighten up." She whispered softly. I looked at her with wide eyes.

"Me? None of this is me. He's way too stubborn and all he does is sleep on It." I defended.

She shook her head and pushed her glasses further along her nose.

"I don't know how else to say this... its strictly business for the grade. Fake it until you make it. You two really need to get a grip and suck it up." She explained firmly.

"If you two can't do this. Then I guess you two should expect the failing grade." She finished.

I flinched at the word and sighed.

This wasn't fair. I grumbled and stomped out of the classroom.

I could feel Ms. D's eyes on me, but I couldn't care less. Small shocks were coursing through my body.

At the end of the hallway I could see Randy. The hallways were nearly empty save for a few students.

Classes were already in session, and I tried not to draw attention to myself, by not being too loud.

I picked up my pace and began to slightly sprint down the hallway, trying to catch up to him before he was able to descend the stairs.

"Randy wait!" I called, just as I got to the entrance of the staircase.

He paused and turned to me with a grimace.

"What..." he said sharply.

I inwardly flinched and bit my lip.

"We... we need to get a grip on ourselves and suck it up." I breathed, clenching my fists.

"I know neither of us like this pairing, but maybe we got off to a bad start..."

Randy raised a brow.

"You think?" He replied sarcastically.

I cocked my hip to the side and pursed my lips with narrow eyes.

I bit my lips hard, restraining from replying back with as much sarcasm.

"Its only for three weeks starting from today." I continued, stepping down one stair to stand in front of him.

I felt a little small... literally, I had never taken the time to actually see how tall he was. I found myself looking up to him.

He looked down at me, and nodded.

"Okay." He sighed as he stepped away and started descending the rest of the stairs.

I sighed and followed him.

The rest of the day went on uneventfully.

It was just as any other normal school day. I had hoped something else would happen.

I was surprised that the sorcerer hadn't gone through great lengths to stank someone, especially having to turn down two guys who asked me out.

I sat anxiously in my science class staring at the clock. It was stretching on forever. Class couldn't be over soon enough?

I tapped my pencil on the desk, pressing the eraser.

The teacher went on about physical anatomy, and I wiped my face, my skin feeling a little itchy.

Everyone jumped at their seats the moment the bell rang. I ducked low as some even went as far as trampling others to get out.

I sighed and slung my back pack onto my shoulder.

I didn't have much work to do, the only thing that bothered me was the ridiculous project we were supposed to do.

I yawned and already felt tired.

I decided to ditch the witch hunt for my locker.

A lot of students were already pouring out of the doors.

It had taken me about six minutes to finally smell the fresh cool air outside.

I rubbed my temples, and began to walk as far as I could.

"Leena!" Someone called out to me. I stopped dead in my tracks and looked over to Randy, who waved at me, and then quickly turned over to the short heavy set kid.

I sighed and swallowed hard. I bit my lip as he approached me.

I smiled as best as I could and turned, he followed close beside me.

"So I was thinking, that maybe we could start this project tonight maybe?" He asked. "Maybe getting it done early doesn't seem like such a bad idea." He said with a grimace.

I glared at him and rolled my eyes.

He shrugged it off. I huffed feeling a little angry.

I twitched as small shocks started to swarm through my body again.

Randy smirked a little and stuffed his hands into his pocket.

"Your place or mine?" He asked.

I raised a brow and turned my head to look at him. When he had said that we were going to work on the project after school, I didn't think he was serious.

I found myself thinking the worst.

"I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind you coming over to finish a project."

I shuddered and shook my head.

No more people. I was .

"How about mine. My uncle probably wont be home until midnight, so I think we'll be okay." I assured and began to walk faster.

He scoffed and kept up with me.

I tried to ignore him as we walked.

It was really irritating. He was going to know where I live... but it was better than meeting his mom and being stuck there with him.

I would have much rather jumped from building to building like I do almost every morning, but I couldn't while he was here. We would have made it to my home faster if it weren't because he was there.

I sighed and let him catch up.

It didn't take as long as I had first thought to get to the front of my door.

The inside of my home was a lot more darker from my windows.

I couldn't help but to feel slightly embarrassed.

I reached into my pocket and froze.

I didn't have a key.

Dang it! Dang it!

I cursed at myself and stood to Randy who looked at me catiously.

"Could you wait here?" I asked softly, a sheepish look plastered on my face.

He raised a brow and nodded.

"Okay...?" He said and stepped back as I quickly slid off the porch and ran through the alley way.

I could feel the shocks in me again, as I jumped the fence into my backyard.

I jumbled the door. That was locked too.

I shook my head inwardly scolding myself. I hid securely beneath the window pane, and sighed.

I centered my energy, controlling the wind, and focusing my mind. In a sharp movement, my body transported inside of my kitchen.

I peeped one eye open and sighed in relief.

I had practiced that many times and never seemed to get it right. It was a relief to know I had achieved the goal successfully.

I shook my hands, trying to shake out the electric bolts.

I trudged over to the front door and opened it.

Randy stood by the steps and looked at me.

"Come." I said, and he willingly came in.

I flipped on the light, to brighten up the living space.

I wasn't feeling it.

I switched it off.

"Lets just go to my room." I said. "All of my work area is up there." I said as I beckoned him to follow.

He was reluctant at first, but soon followed after.

I turned from the hallway at the steps and led him into my bedroom where the coffee table stood in the center.

I plopped my heavy bookbag onto the floor and flinched. It was really taking a toll on my shoulders.

Randy stepped inside and placed his bag on the table.

"We should be getting started." He sighed.

I nodded and reached under my bed for my laptop and opened it, after placing it on the coffee table.

I swallowed hard.

It didn't come to me then, but it definitely came to me now as I realized I didn't really think this through.

I was alone with a boy in my room.

I swiped the tips of my fingers against the mouse pad and clicked the PC on.

I couldn't help but to feel a little self conscious as he pulled off his blue hooded sweater and dug into his backpack.

He set out the papers against the coffee table, and a packet. He tapped his pencil against the papers.

I kept my face hidden behind the computer screen as I opened the internet.

I rested my chin into the palm of my hand.

"How... about Grace O'Malley?" I asked, tapping my finger against my lips.

He yawned.

"I'm not sure... is she too easy of someone to do a presentation on?" He asked, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

I scoffed and peered over the screen.

"Will you just let it go?" I snapped and hid back behind my screen.

"We'll just do the report on her." I grumbled.

He looked at my forehead and then down at the paper.

"Okay, PowerPoint presentation. We start with an introduction slide." He said softly as he slowly began to glide the pencil across the paper.

I typed in Grace O'Malley in the search engine.

I could hear the pencil scratching against the paper and I ignored him.

"We wont need a written report as well, do we?" I asked as I opened a link and started reading information.

I heard him stop and the table shook as he began to erase what was written on the paper.

"I think we have to. There's a grade for the presentation and then a private grade with a written report." He sighed.

I groaned and rubbed my temples.

This was going to take awhile.

"You're not planning on staying til midnight are you?" I chuckled.

He hummed before he answered.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He answered bluntly.

I flinched a bit.

"Ow." I said rolling my eyes.

He didn't pay attention to me.

I sighed and peered over to the papers he had spread out across the table.

I could make out clear organized drawings of a PowerPoint presentation equipped with prenotes.

My brow raised and I looked up at him.

"That's... quite a stragetic plan you've got written there... its... impressive." I mused looking over his work again.

His brow furrowed as he frowned.

"What the juice is that supposed to mean?" He asked.

I shrugged with a smirk.

"Figure it out."

He ran a hand through his hair.

It was quiet as he soon stood up and sat beside me.

We had researched for almost two hours and my backside was getting sore.

I could feel myself growing a little hungry. I had skipped breakfast, and lunch today.

I licked my lips and stood up.

Randy continued to write down notes, as he rested his cheek into his hand.

"I'm getting a bit hungry... do you want anything?" I asked as I rubbed my belly.

He looked at me with pursed lips and narrow eyes and shrugged.

"Sure." He replied.

I pressed my lips together and turned on my heels.

I descended the stairs to the first floor.

I rubbed my face as I tried my best to think what I was in the mood for.

Boiled bagels!

I rubbed my hands together and bounced to the sink, washing my hands, I put the ingredients together.

At the same time I couldn't help but to feel a little excited that I got to share my cooking with someone else.

I mixed the dough and began to mold it out.

It took me awhile to boil, bake, and decorate the bagels, but it was definitely worth it.

I placed a few decorated fresh bagels on a platter and carefully climbed up the stairs.I opened the door and placed it on the table.

Randy had fell asleep. His eyes shut and still had strain.

I couldn't help but to feel a little bad for him.

A could feel a small grimace as I reached up to touch his wrist that was still propping his face up.

I recoiled upon seeing a bruise forming on his skin.

Now that I thought about it, I believe it was the same wrist I had grabbed earlier in the day. I had under estimated how hard I had grabbed him, just to get him to that stupid table in the corner.

He was right, I was a shoob.

I sighed and slowly touched his arm.

His eyes opened slowly, and he pulled back away from me, and rubbed his face.

He was still slightly dazed, but became awake after smelling the cheesed and peppered bagels on the table.

"I made boiled bagels." I said and sat in front of him.

"I hope they're good... I never really shared a recipe with anyone before." I shrugged and picked a bagel up from the platter.

He looked up at me.

"Oh... thanks." He yawned.

I laughed and slowly nibbled on a bagel.

He raised a brow and reached for a bagel.

We had continued our research as we consumed our bagels.

He seemed to like them, so I didn't bother asking straightforward if he did.

I added some notes to his PowerPoint sketch and had to turn on a light. It was growing dark and I worried a bit.

"We have gotten pretty far for our first day. I'm pretty impressed of us." I mused, and tapped the pencil on the desk.

He chuckled and rubbed his cheeks.

My smile slowly dissipated as I heard an unknown sound.

I turned my head in search for the sound.

"What is that?" I asked, my face scrunching up. It wasn't like any sound I've heard before.

Randy seemed to tense and reached for his backpack.

"Oh... that's my mom calling me." He said in a breathy voice and stood up. He began to grab at the papers and stuffed them as fast as he could into his bag.

"You have an odd ringtone." I giggled and scooped up my notes.

I blinked a few times. It seemed as if a red light started emanating from his bag.

I raised a brow. His phone screen must have been bright. I could swear someone could see its light from a mile away.

"I'd better get going." He sighed as he slung the bag over his shoulder and reached for his sweater, the weird noise suddenly stopping.

I stood up and picked up the platter from the coffee table.

"Oh... um... okay. I'll walk you to the door." I breathed.

He looked at me for a moment before he turned and exited the room. I followed close behind him, and stood by the door. I felt like a waiter with the platter in my hand.

He smiled at me, and quickly slipped through the door.

I blinked a few times, and poked my head out the door.

"Will we do this again?" I asked as he stepped onto the sidewalk.

He scratched his head and turned as he began to walk backwards.

"Yeah, sounds good." He said as he waved and then turned, power walking down the block.

"Well-" I started to say, and then he was gone.

"Okay..." I sighed and stepped back inside closing the door.

I slowly walked to the kitchen and washed the dish, with a grimace.

Why was he in such a hurry?

Was it me?

I shook my head softly.

Why the heck did I care?

Why did it bother me?

This was ridiculous.

I flicked the water off my hands and toweled my hands dry.

I was thinking way too much. What was wrong with me? As if I cared what he thought... or what anyone thought.

It bothered me to admit that for a small moment there I actually did care.


	8. Chapter 7

I couldn't figure out what time it was. But I was in a deep sleep.

I dreamt of nothing. It was completely silent and dark. These were the kinds of dreams that I preferred to have.

I could feel a small vibration, and a little damp.

My eyes slowly opened to the dark walls of my room. I sat up on my bed, that was pressed against the wall.

I quickly wiped off my face. I was drooling. I shuddered at how dry my mouth was. I was sleeping with it open again.

I rubbed my eyes, and peeked over to my thrown backpack on the ground.

It was vibrating and glowing a bright escense of a glowing eerie green.

The sorcerer was summoning me.

I ran a hand casually through my hair and slowly slid off the bed.

I wasn't sure if Ned was home. I think I was too tired to even care.

I slowly zipped open my backpack, and pulled out my jewelry box.

I had to shut my eyes as the green grew brighter when I opened it.

"Ruu, you have failed to follow through with the plan. I have waited far too long." The sorcerer said, his voice sharp and firm.

I looked away and groaned.

"You'll have to resort to McFist." I said groggy.

"I have to take my time if I want this to work out efficiently." I explained. "From the last time I checked, what was pulled through that last time was not what we planned."

The sorcerer glared at me, his eyes narrowing into tiny slits.

"We have one goal... to destroy the ninja. What better way then to kill him with my lastest creation." He chuckled lightly. "Chaos will set me free, once the ninja Is destroyed." His voice becoming grave again.

I slouched slightly and placed the box onto the floor, and crossed my legs.

"I'm aware of this..." I sighed.

"You will have revenge." He said softly, the green light slipping through the haze of his face. I tried to blink the green away as they briefly touched my eyes.

"Stop that... It makes me feel sick when you do." I sighed.

He said nothing, and retreated the light with a small smirk.

I have a plan of my own." I sighed. "I'm sure it will work." I assured.

"Oh you do, do you?" He mused, his voice sounded unconvinced.

I glared at him, and rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, and I know it'll work. I just need time." I retorted.

Again, he said nothing.

"You and McFist, send the best guys you have for the ninja. Its about time we tired him out." I suggested, and rubbed the side of my neck.

"And what are you to do?" The sorcerer asked, one eye open, the other narrowed.

I shook my head.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." I said firmly.

"Just be patient."

He looked at me with a hard look of disapproval.

I felt a little antsy.

"Do not fail me." He whispered before he soon disappeared in a haze.

The room was dark again.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.

I closed the box and slipped it into my backpack.

I slowly reached back into backpack and pulled out my enchanted jewelry.

With a grimace I placed it onto my thigh.

I cocked my head to the side and traced my fingers along the smooth crystals.

I sighed, as the crown slowly started lightening up, the clear crystals created a small design with the light.

I watched intently as the patterns slowly began to dance over the pale skin on my thigh.

I traced the tip of my finger against the pattern on my skin.

I had remembered my mother wearing the crown.

I could remember her teaching me how to enchant it... she had told me to wear it when I felt scared. It hid my identity. It was to protect me... and I remember the day she had decided to give the crown and necklace to me.

I blinked, holding my head back as the tears slipped past my lashes, and to my lips.

I brushed my fingers against my lips and caught the stray tear. I flinched as it slightly burned a dim shade of purple before it completely dissipated.

I hadn't realized how much I missed my parents. I had wondered if it wouldn't have hurt so much if I hadn't seen them in death. I probably wouldn't want to join them so desperately either.

The ninja... he was going to pay. He had no reason.

There was no reason to do what he did.

I held the jewelry close to my body, and then climbed back into bed.

I could hear Ned on the phone, yabbering about some nonsense.

I slipped the blanket to my waist and held the crown close to my chest, I felt my heart beat against the crystals, and sighed.

I let my eyes close and bit my lip, as tears slowly slipped my from eyes and across my face.

I sighed deeply and before I knew it I had slipped back into sleep.

I couldn't really tell what time it was, but I knew it was early enough for my alarm not to go off yet.

I could feel something on my face.

I scrunched up face, and rubbed it.

Whatever it was returned. It was tickling me... and it was... furry...

My eyes shot open to a pair of green reptile like eyes.

I screeched and scrambled to the corner.

I stared wide eyed as a black and orange cat stepped back and jumped off the bed at the sound of my scream.

I remained where I was until the cat scurried out of my room.

What the juice was a cat doing in my room?!

I crawled to the edge of my bed and peered over to the bedroom door, and watch the cat sit at the end of the hallway and slowly .

I sat onto my bed, and breathed deeply before slipping out of bed wearing my black tank top and Pajama plaid shorts.

The cat stopped grooming itself and looked up at me with glossy eyes before taking off down the steps.

I grumbled and followed it to the kitchen where Ned was at, reading the newspaper.

I stepped into the kitchen and looked at the cat, who began to hide, then at Ned who peered over the paper.

"What is that!?" I huffed pointing over to the black furry blob that hid under the table.

Ned raised a brow, and reached over to take another sip of his coffee.

"Its a cat." He answered simply.

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms, cocking my hip to the side.

"I know what it is... I'm asking why is it here?" I asked, sighing.

He cleared his throat and placed the paper back down onto the counter.

"Okay... first, it's not 'it' its 'she' and she has a name... her name is Lemur.

I raised a brow.

"Lemur?" I asked. That was an odd name for a cat...

Ned nodded and folded his hands.

"I have noticed... the last three years... you've been here by yourself... so last night I had decided to adopt a cat from one of my co-workers. I thought it would be nice for her to keep you company."

I inwardly smiled. It was incredibly thoughtful, but I didn't mind being alone. I felt safer that way.

I kept my face impassive and ran a hand through my hair.

"A cat...' I sighed.

I bent over and peered under the table. The cat cowered and looked at me with wide eyes.

Poor thing was scared.

I smiled and whisked my fingers creating a purple butterfly. It flew silently over to the cat who stared at it intently before reaching a paw to it. It slowly disappeared as her paw flew through it.

The rest of the morning was uneventful. Ned was up and out of the house, the cat went to sleep on my bed, and I had made sure that the spare house key was on me before I left the house.

I had decided not to tell Ned that I had a boy in my room. Whether it was for a project or not, I'd knew he wouldn't approve, and things would just be too awkward.

I really didn't want to have that kind of talk with Ned.

I slipped on my backpack as I nibbled on a few pieces of pancake.

I was sure that Randy was to be over today. We were cool hanging out and finishing up the first part of the project. I wasn't all too thrilled about the written individual portion of the project strung along with the group presentation.

I felt that it was all unnecessary.

I trudged out of the house, and locked the door behind me.

I stepped onto the sidewalk and yawned.

It had been a long night. Instead of sleeping through it, I had spent the majority of my time crying.

I had often found myself wondering if I should let it go. I really couldn't bring myself to.,

I decided to walk, instead of taking the usual route to school. I didn't want to waste my energy in case the ninja decided to show up today at school. Just using my magic alone was enough to knock me out cold.

I found myself growing more and more tired. I wasn't too sure if the whole public school thing was a good idea.

I had only been there for two days and things were hectic as all... but then again, school had already been in session when I started.

I felt the wind blow through my hair as I sighed, and let my eyes close slightly.

At least I had someone to go home to.

I smiled at the thought. Maybe having a small cat at home wasn't such a bad idea. Ned's heart was in the right place this time.

It hadn't felt like long, but I often found myself thinking about Randy as I walked our usual path to and from school.

I bit my lip and slowly shook the thought from my head.

I couldn't think like that.

I rubbed my face and hummed to myself sleepily.

I stumbled slightly and it only took me a few minutes to get to school.

As usual there were a crowd of students cluttered across the front entrance.

I could feel the sick feeling in my belly. I really didn't want to go to school.

I rubbed my wrist gently and tried to shake out the tired.

I forced my eyes to stay open..I trudged over to my usual tree waiting place and leaned against it.

It felt like minutes had gone by, and I let my eyes close for a moment.

I could hear people pass me, but I continued to rest my eyes for a bit.

Suddenly, a loud scream could be heard and my eyes shot open.

I whipped my head up, as all the kids started to scream and run in panic. A few kids pushed by me, one even knocked me over.

I groaned as my body plummeted to the ground. I scrambled to my feet, feeling slightly tired as a Cyclops robot jumped in front of me.

I glared into his eye, and sighed.

This had to be one of McFists bots... better yet Vice Roy's creations.

I was sure they could have done a better job with this.

I yawned and stood in a defensive stance, and gripped my bookbag.

The robot howled, and then gripped my waist, and lifted me.

A small whimper escaped my lips as it began to squeeze me tighter.

I held onto its spiny scissors fingers that clamped painfully tight against my skin.

What on earth was he thinking?!

I gasped and tried to center my energy.

"Ninja rings!" Someone called and in an instant, I was falling to the ground again.

Before I could touch the ground the ninja had caught me, and then left me on the ground.

Without so much as a word he kept his back turned to me, and began to run toward the robot.

I stood up again on shaky legs and ran a hand through my hair, accidentally shocking myself.

I blinked a few times.

It was too early for this.


	9. Chapter 8

I scrambled over to a nearby tree, closing my eyes once more as people came running by.

I kept low, as the robot was getting pummeled by the ninja. This seemed like an easy task for him.

I shuddered lightly as the metal screeched against the ground.

I pulled my backpack and set it down in front of me. The last few people scrambled away.

I quickly dug my hand into my pack bag and slid on my enchanted jewelry.

I sighed as I felt my magic drain me once more, and I wiped my eyes. My legs felt like pudding, but I managed to make a bolt toward the ninja who was just about to plow his sword into the heart of the bot.

With a flick of my wrist, a stream of shocks emanated from me, and slowly made its way around the ninja's neck.

Without shocking him, he immediately backed away and looked in my direction, the bot was sprawled against the ground, a few wires poking out from it's head.

Mcfist was a joke.

I jumped and landed in front of the ninja, my vision suddenly going off and I staggered a bit.

He recognized me, his eyes narrowing through his mask.

"What the juice?! What is this?!" He asked as he stepped further away from me.

I blinked a few times, and tried to shake out my dizziness.

"Don't you remember me?" I asked.

The ninja glared at me through narrow eyes.

"Y-yeah!" He said in uncertainty. "Y-you were here yesterday."

I rolled my eyes, and flicked my wrist, sending a bolt around his neck.

A loud scream could be heard from his as it brought him to his knees.

A few gasps could be heard from on lookers who cowered in fear.

The ninja, reached up and held his neck, his eyes shut in pain.

"No..."I grumbled as I pulled back, causing the bolt around his neck to tighten.

I bit my lip, as he squirmed slightly, before he pulled out his sword and cut it.

The blade caused the bolt to reflect and come back to me. I screeched lightly as it shocked me.

The Ninja ignored the limp robot on the ground, and flipped back.

"Don't you remember me?! Nine years ago!" I screeched as I stepped onto the ground.

He coughed, and groaned.

I slowly shook the shocks out from my wrist.

He staggered back, as he held his sword, ready to attack.

"What the juice?! Why are you doing this?" He choked out.

I leaped toward him, and shot a wave of electric bolts at him, which he dodged and sent them back.

My vision fell a little blurry and I found myself cutting short.

"As If you wouldn't Know." I breathed and glared at him, I reached back and pulled out my own sword.

The ninja shook his head vigorously.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" He defended.

I couldn't help but to clench my teeth in anger. This fool.

He head the audacity, to murder my parents, continued to live his life, and then pretended as if nothing ever happened... as if he hadn't ruined someone's life.

I charged at him, and swung my sword, hoping to aim at his neck and finish him.

He grunted as our swords clashed together. He took a few steps toward me, and blocked me off. I took a few steps back as my legs grew weak again.

What was up with me? I couldn't understand what was wrong. I was having an off day, sleep never evaded me before.

I tried to shake it off, and charged at him again, only to have him flip.

I growled in anger as he landed swiftly on the tree.

I looked over at the robot who didn't seem to move.

"You obviously weren't the person I thought you were." The ninja said from his high estate in the tree. His voice was a heavy pant and I scoffed at it.

"Don't sound so hurt, ninja." I spat, and twisted my body toward him once more.

I couldn't use my magic, I knew that if I had I'd weaken myself out and pass out. I was sure they were to unmask me the moment that happens, and if the whole school knew my identity, I would be shoobed. My plan would fail, and the sorcerer would have away at both McFist and I both.

Damn McFist for his piece of junk heaps of metal creations.

I took one last feeble attempt at my magic, and created a bright blue energy ball with my hands.

The ninjas eyes narrowed through the mask, and in a rope like structure, I lashed it out at him.

Just as he was about to flip away, it wrapped around his leg and threw him onto the ground.

He yelped slightly and turned on his stomach. He bent his legs and attempted to crawl away, but I was quicker. It wrapped around his torso and tightly squeezed him.

A grunt emanated from in him, as he slowly began to break away.

I tightened it, a small snap could be heard, and he yelped out loudly.

A could feel a small smirk come upon my face.

He was finally getting a taste of his own medicine.

I could hear him struggling, and I think I finally had him, I swung my arms and sent him plummeting to the ground.

He landed with a loud "oof"

Even then, I still hadn't let go.

I slowly approached him.

He groaned as he shifted, a few of his bones rolling back into place.

"That was pretty cool wasn't it?" I chuckled, and looked down at him.

He didn't answer me, and instead looked at me.

He sighed, and slowly dragged him.

"Are you insane?!" He choked out.

I paused, and pursed my lips in thought, my eyes veering up slightly.

"Mmm... maybe a little." I answered simply.

By then the scheduled bells had already rung inside the school.

It was unknown where the students were. I was sure some of them took cover in the school, and most of them were probably already miles away.

I tensed my muscles and attempted to throw him, but I felt too weak.

He used this to his advantage, as he broke through my waves, sending them back to me again.

Electricity ran through my body, my veins throbbed in excruciating pain.

I dug my nails into my skin, and held down the scream that was balled into my throat.

It hurt much more than I had anticipated.

I growled and looked up at him, before his foot went flying into my face.

I saw colors and my body was thrown a few feet. I grunted as I slammed into the ground, a pang of pain shot through my spine.

I looked up as he hovered over me, my sword had fallen out of my hand.

"What happened with you?" He asked softly, his eyes were no longer narrowed.

I coughed and tried hard to move, and couldn't.

I shoobed myself, why couldn't I just let him fight the robot on his own and chip in when I didn't feel so weak.

I was always pushing myself, and then could never figure out how to get myself out of sticky situations like this.

I inwardly cursed myself as I lifted my legs and pounded my feet into his chest.

His chest seemed a lot more frail than I hard originally thought.

He yelped in pain as he went flying back.

I rolled onto my belly, and let my hair fall over my face.

I caught site of my sword and began to drag myself toward it.

"Ninja sword snatch!" A voice called, and in an instant, my sword was gone.

I gripped onto the grass as my eyes watered and my face felt hot and red with anger.

"Damn it!" I screeched and then whipped my head toward him.

He stared at me with narrow eyes, as he held my sword in his hand, his red scarf blowing with the occasional gusts of wind.

I growled as I stood up with shaky legs.

I narrowed my eyes and yelled as I charged at him.

His eyes got even narrower as he charged back.

Just as we were about to collide, I flipped over him, using my magic to yank my sword back and landed on my feet behind him.

We both turned and I didn't wait for the next move, with all the strength I had left I made a run for it, running past the tree, I gripped my backpack and ran in the opposite direction, making sure he wasn't behind me.

I was completely shoobed. I messed up, and I knew he would be looking for me.

I'm such an idiot!

The sorcerer was not going to be happy about this.

It was time to face the beast.


	10. Chapter 9

"Are you okay?" A voice suddenly woke me from my sleep.

I wiped my face and sat up.

I had slept through homeroom.

Bucky looked at me with concern.

His hair looked blown and toussled.

He seemed to have formed a bruise under his eye, and I sighed.

He must have gotten blasted during the fight.

"Bucky... why the hell are you even in school today?" I asked with a grimace. "You seem to have really taken a blow. You should have just went home."

Of course the school really didn't get damaged this time, just one broken window maybe, but the fight took place in the school backyard.

So then school, as usual, kept going.

Bucky looked at me solemnly and then looked down with a frown.

"School is the only place for me to be... I'd rather be here than at home." He sighed.

I raised a brow.

Something was up with Bucky. I bit my lip and contemplated, surely something had to be going on at home. My problem was whether or not I should butt into it.

It's not really my business, and I've already got enough on my plate, this would only add more if something extravagantly bad were to be happening at his home.

On the other hand, Bucky was a really good friend, and helped me a lot during the short time that I was here at school. It would seem right to me to comfort him, and see what's bothering him. I should be helping him.

"Oh..." I sighed, and rubbed my temples as my head suddenly throbbed.

I was pathetic.

I jumped slightly as the bell rung, and the others were hoping out of their desks and spilling out into the hallway.

I grabbed my bag, and waved to Bucky who nodded in a slight daze. I slung the strap over my shoulder and squeezed through the hallway.

My first class was literature, and I knew what was the come. We were doing in class work for the assignment.

I tried to will away all the thoughts of being excited.

This was dumb.

I only knew him for a day, why on earth was I excited to see him?!

I sighed and continued to scurry amoung students to get to my first class.

I slipped a few corners, and couldn't shake that stupid smile that came to my face the moment I walked into the first class.

I walked quietly to the back of the classroom and sat into my desk.

I bit my lip, lightly and looked down at my desk, trying to hide away my smile.

I felt like an idiot.

Ms. Dietrich sat at her desk, and continued to read the papers in front of her with a grimace.

I twisted my lips slightly, and pulled my backpack to the side of the desk. I reached in and pulled out the notes that were needed for the in class project assignment.

In a matter of seconds, the class was half full and I craned my neck trying to find my partner for the assignment.

I frowned slightly as the bell rang, and Ms. D, stood up from her seat.

Class was already going to start, and Randy was no where to be seen.

I assumed he was absent from school today. I don't remember if I saw the shorter kid he was always hanging out with earlier.

"Okay, class listen up!" Ms. Dietrich said firmly as she stepped in front of the smart board.

"Today is the last day, I will be giving you time to work on your independent projects in class... do not waste it." she stated firmly. "We will continue with our lesson tomorrow morning before the weekend is in." She explained.

"I want everyone doing work, no loitering around." She added.

I pulled out my notes, and tried to focus on them.

"Okay, get to your partners." Ms. D instructed before she sat back down on her chair.

I furrowed my brow as everyone moved about. Randy didn't show, and I had to say I was a little disappointed.

I had no idea where he lived, so it wasn't like I could go to him after school to finish up the last details of our project.

As far as I knew, we were closer to done with it than anyone one else in the classroom. The three weeks were going to be a piece of cake.

I ran a hand through my hair, and decided to gather more reading to catch up on chapters.

One thing I knew for sure, I was definitely going to get some sleep tonight, in case the ninja were to make another appearance, I wouldn't make a shoob out of myself like I did today.

WEEK ONE

There was still no sign of Randy, projects were due soon, and we still hadn't been able to set up our power point.

I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. I had gotten into three pages on my independent essay. It wasn't as hard as I had expected it to be. I was a lot more handy with it than I initially thought myself to be.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I spent my weekend alone.

WEEK TWO

Projects due dates were edging closer and I had already started the PowerPoint on my own. I had completely disowned Randy as a partner. He couldn't even stop by to help out, or even let me know what was up.

I had my enchanted jewelry placed in my drawer somewhere in my room. The ninja never showed up this passed two weeks, and every one seemed oddly calm. No one got stanked, and from the number of summons, the sorcerer wasn't too happy about this.

McFist attempted to lure the ninja with a few gadgets, but nothing worked. McFist couldn't let the robot distroy the city, it was made up mostly of his industries which forced him to call off the robot.

Once more, the ninja failed to appear. It was all a bit too odd for me. I had wondered if something happened to him along the lines.

I was able to see the short kid Randy was always with, but he seemed to preoccupied with his own things, every time I tried to approach him and ask for Randy, he'd turn the other way.

I was sure he remembered me, I had sent him to sleep awhile back. Maybe he knew what he was in for.

I wouldn't blame him for not talking to me.

I leaned against my chair staring at the clock in the library. I had pursed my lips as I tapped my pencil against the desk.

I finished two nights worth of homework, and for the first time on a Friday night, I was free to do whatever I wanted.

I draped my head over the back of the chair, and closed my eyes, breathing deeply.

The PowerPoint was a few slides done, and all I had to do was edit it, and maybe tweak some facts here and there.

Randy hadn't crossed my mind once, even though his desk remained empty for first period class.

I couldn't help but to press away the feeling that I had maybe scared him off somehow... I wasn't too sure.

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted my thoughts.

I peeped open one eye and looked up at Bucky, who smiled at me politely.

His skin looked a bit clammy, and blotched with pink.

I raised a brow and lifted my head, twisting my body to face him properly.

"Hey Bucky, what's up?" I rapsed and stretched slightly, twisting my hips to snap my lower back.

Bucky tucked his arms behind his back, and slightly leaned forward.

"Hey." He said as he took a seat next to me. The bell wasn't ringing for another few minutes and I was. feeling antsy.

He looked down at his hands as he folded them on the table.

I raised a brow and leaned forward.

"Is there something wrong, bud?" I asked curiously.

Bucky seemed distracted as he shifted, his face growing to a peach color.

"Its been two weeks..." he swallowed hard. "And... I wanted to know... if we could... go see a movie?" He suggested.

I chuckled and rested my chin against the palm of my hand.

Bucky didn't look at me, he continued to stare at his hands as they lay neatly on top of the library table.

I pursed my lips and nodded.

"Yeah... you're right... I've known you for awhile." I sighed, but kept a small smile on my face.

"I suppose a friendly date couldn't hurt." I murmured softly.

Bucky immediately looked up with a small smile on his face.

"R-really?" He asked softly.

I bit my lip and nodded.

"Of course." I chuckled. "What movie are we going to see?" I asked softly.

Bucky giggled obnoxiously, and shrugged.

"I don't know... I didn't think I'd get this far." He piped. "We can pick and choose when we get there!" He cheered with excitement.

I bit my lip to withhold a laugh.

"Sounds like a plan... so tonight then? What time? " I asked.

Bucky thought for awhile, and then looked up.

"About seven?"

I nodded.

"Alright I'll meet you there." I said softly.

Bucky was right. I had started attending school awhile back, and I met Bucky on the first day. I remembered promising him that I would consider it, after I had gotten to know him better.

I couldn't back on it now, he seemed to have his hopes up. I felt it wasn't my place to crush him, surely he knew what a friendly date was... I hope.

The bell rang in a matter of seconds, and Bucky continued to look at me with excitment.

I stood up awkwardly and grabbed my bag.

"I guess I'll see you tonight." I chuckled, sliding the strap over my shoulder.

He continued to smile as he stood up and gathered his belongings. I couldn't help but to snicker and shake my head as I turned my back to leave.

The first classes went by uneventfully.

The sorcerer was relatively calm on this day.

He seemed content with something, he probably had something hatched with McFist.

I couldn't care less. There was nothing McFist could do for him.

Most of their ideas combined never worked. The Ninja was no where to be found.

And so, he couldn't be free, without destroying the ninja, he was trapped down there.

I found myself thinking on a few occasions about the situation.

I was shaking my leg, and glaring at the clock. It was the class before lunch, and all I wanted to do was get out.

I tapped my fingers on the desk. The room got quiet, and the bell sound pierced the air.

And for the first time, I zipped out of the classroom.

I enjoyed my lunch hour. I was content with the new lunch priveledge. A lot of us were able to go out to the back courtyard of the school. It was available during and after lunch.

It was getting cold out, it was already late fall going into winter, and I didn't mind the cold weather.

I made my way quickly toward the cafeteria. I had money in my pocket from Ned, and I planned on getting something huge and tasty. Because it was so cold outside, I didn't have to worry about sharing my food with revolting flies.

I stood in line awkwardly and glided my eyes across the cafeteria. I held the tray of food In my hand firmly. I had a few pierogies, and a fresh slice of white cheese chopped with onion. I had a small pile of condiments on a separate plate.

I furrowed my brow once I saw Heidi, her face stained with tears as she grabbed her backpack and slipped through the back doors of the cafeteria.

I stepped to the front of the line as the last person in front of me took their seat. I quickly pulled the money from my pocket, paid, and followed Heidi through the double doors.

The wind was cool as I stepped outside, and the air felt like ice as I inhaled.

I quickly stepped on the the courtyard by descending the small steps.

It was empty, save for both me and Heidi.

She sat alone by the tree, her knees brought securely to her chest as she hid her face behind them.

Her quiet sobbing echoed as I began to step closer to her.

She sniffled and didn't seem to know me as I approached.

I was sure she was the girl whose friend was stanked about two weeks ago. I remembered him being taken into an ambulance but I haven't seen him since.

I hadn't bothered to see if he was okay either.

I couldn't tell how Heidi was holding up either. I never paid much attention to her. All I knew what that Randy's best friend was her brother.

I knew she saw something that day, and I grew curious and a little suspicious.

I slowly sat beside her, despite my anxiety I was working up.

Heidi didn't seem to notice me through her sobs.

I bit my lip and leaned closer, gently touching her arm.

She gasped and immediately pulled away, her eyes pink and puffy. She stared at me wide eyed and leaned away.

"What... what do you want? Who are you?" She asked sharply, her face stained.

I recoiled immediately and swallowed hard.

"I... I'm Leena." I said softly... "I saw what happened a few weeks ago... I just wanted to know if you're okay..." I said softly.

Heidi didn't answer me, her eyes swelled with tears again and she looked away, she covered her face with her shirt sleeve and wiped away more tears that began to ebb.

I looked down at my plate, and stirred my pierogie with my fork.

"Hows... your friend doing? I haven't seen him around since the incident." I spoke softly.

Heidi still didn't answer.

I pressed my lips together, listening to her sniffles.

I sighed and looked down once more. This felt like another lost clause.

"All I saw was purple..." she said softly, her voice cracking.

I blinked a few times and looked over to her, my brow furrowing.

Purple?

"You saw purple?" I asked softly.

Heidi looked off in the distance her face glistening with fresh tears.

"Its all my fault... it all happened so fast." She groaned lightly and leaned against the tree.

The gears in my head stopped, I couldn't think straight. I felt totally confused.

"What exactly did you see?" I asked and twisted my body.

Heidi shook her head and then looked at me.

"Haven't you seen everything?! I saw the entire school in the yard when he was taken in." She said sharply and then wiped her face again.

"Why do you care?!" She spat at me, her eyes still puffy.

I flinched at the sharpness in her voice, and then relaxed.

"I- I'm sorry..." I murmured softly and moved away from her. "I was worried."

Heidi sighed deeply and gently stood up.

"I'm sorry..." she replied, and stepped away. "I would like to be alone."

I looked up as she began to walk further away from me. I knew I somehow annoyed her, I felt it emanating from her strongly.

I sighed and lifted my fork, swirling the pierogie through the ketchup and quickly popped it into my mouth.

I couldn't help but to feel off.

Purple?

I wondered what she meant by that, she must have been hit somehow, right?

But she didn't seem to carry any bruises.

I narrowed my eyes as she carefully, slipped through the double doors and back to the cafeteria.

Well... that attempt was in vain... I got no where.


	11. Chapter 10

I placed my money on the counter at the concession stand. The woman behind the counter collected the money and placed it in the register.

I hardly ever go to the movie theater, but I've always enjoyed the smell of popcorn whenever walking in. It was always toasty and warm at the concession stand.

I bought a few sour patches and ripped open the box, immediately snacking on them.

I waited patiently as the concession worker filled up a popcorn bucket and buttered it. She lightly shook it and handed it to me.

"Thank you, have a good one." She said.

I nodded and grabbed the bucket, placing my opened box of Sour patch kids onto the steaming popcorn so I'd have more grab room.

"Thank you, you too." I said as I turned around and walked out of line.

The movie theater did seem a little packed today. I was aware from the school news that a few new movies were releasing.

Bucky and I still haven't figured out what movie we were gonna see, but I wasn't too worried about it.

I had mentioned to Bucky that we were gonna meet, and he wasn't here just yet. I had hoped he didn't change his mind and bailed out cause he was nervous.

Either way, I was going to be stood up.

I popped a few pieces of popcorn in my mouth.

I had tried to think things over about what Heidi had told me earlier today during lunch, but it didn't help any.

None of what she said made any sense to me.

She saw a color, big whoop, but that could have meant anything.

I planned to approach her again, but the more I saw her, the worse she became. It was almost as if she was never there.

I was well aware that everyone knew something was up with Heidi, but probably figured it was because the boy that had to be dragged to the hospital.

I couldn't figure out how the boy was doing either.

No one had talked about him, and Heidi didn't seem to think it was my business to know.

I sighed and then reached for a sour patch kid.

I shuddered at the bitter sweetness and decided to wonder over toward the theater posters. I glanced at the on showing movies trying to stay away from the oncoming flow of people who seemed to fly in from the double doors.

I carefully examined each one, hoping to find a movie that would seem interesting so that Bucky and I would have something to watch. I felt it would make it less awkward to have something in mind then stand around looking with Bucky beside me.

I continued to glance over movie posters, which weren't many, before I slammed into someone.

I gasped and immediately recoiled. The person seemed to yelp in discomfort and recoiled as well.

"I'm so sorry!" I pleaded, as a few pieces of my popcorn fell from the bucket and onto the carpet.

"Its okay." He said and looked up at me.

I blushed slightly, and sighed upon looking at the familiar face.

This was embarrassing... and a little anger some too.

"Randy?" I asked in disbelief.

Randy looked at me, and blinked.

"Oh, hey you!" He chuckled.

I glared at him, but noticed something was off. He seemed almost sick like, and he indeed appeared to be a little frail.

"W-where were you?! I haven't seen you in school for almost two weeks. I've been working on the project by myself, its already halfway done, its due NEXT week, and you couldn't have the decency to at least show up to my house to let me know what was up so we can TRY to work something out?! Yet here I find you here at a movie theater." I huffed in disapproval, and clutched the popcorn bucket closer to me.

Randy didn't seem to annoyed with my rambling but instead nodded.

"I'm sorry. You're right, but I've been bed written and I couldn't do much. Look, I didn't mean to be such a wonk, I should have told you what was up. I'm only here because Howard dragged me over here. He needed to see the new grave puncher movie." He explained.

I raised a brow and leaned over to get a look at the kid grabbing loads of snacks at the concession stand.

Howard... so that was his name...

I brought my gaze back up to Randy who seemed a little more pale than usual.

"What's wrong? Why are you bed written?" I asked softly, feeling bad immediately.

He shrugged.

"I got into an accident... in the backyard with Howard." He explained, looking up at me occasionally.

"I broke a few ribs, and couldn't really make it to school." He added.

My eyes widened and I stepped back.

"What the juice?! Broken ribs? Really Randy?! How did you and Howard break your ribs!" I demanded and glared at him.

Randy rubbed the back of his neck, and opened his mouth to answer.

"Cunningham!"

We both snapped our heads in the direction.

Howard came trotting over with his hands cluttered in snacks.

"Come on! The movie is about to start." He said, his voice muffled by the things in his face.

Randy gave a weary smile.

"Okay, I'll meet you in there in a sec." He said.

We both watched Howard stand still for a moment before he grumbled and began to turn around and make his way to the theater number.

Randy and I both stood awkwardly in front of each other, and I looked up at him, his head still turned.

I bit my lip.

It felt nice seeing him again, I had disregarded him because I hadn't seen him in two weeks, yet somehow my heart wanted to fly out of my chest upon seeing him.

I wanted to punch myself in the face.

I felt silly, I was being silly.

"What... movie are you seeing?" I asked timidly.

Randy turned his head and looked at me, the lines under his eyes deepening and I grew concerned.

"Howard and I are going to see the new grave puncher movie..." he said his voice trailing off as his eyes drew above my head.

I furrowed my brow and turned slowly my face growing hot at the sight of Bucky.

He wore a casual black shirt and jeans. For the first time, I saw him without his usual band outfit.

I had to admit he looked pretty good.

"Oh, hey!" I choked, and then smoothed my voice immediately. "I thought you weren't going to show up." I chuckled nervously.

"I would never." Bucky replied in a nasally voice.

I bit my lip and turned to Randy, who seemed a bit surprised.

I cleared my throat and nervously played with my pony tail.

"I'd better get going." Randy said. "I'll see you around, okay?" He said with a small smile and brushed passed us.

I sighed and turned,.watching him leave into a theater.

I ran a hand through my hair and then looked at Bucky who seemed to carry an odd look on his face.

I swallowed hard and looked away.

"I think I know what movie we should see." I said softly.

We both stepped inside the dark theater. The dim lights were still on and a few whispers could be heard.

I craned my neck and bit my lip nervously. I haven't seen the first grave puncher movie, but from how packed the theater was, it must have been good.

I kept my eyes squinted on the alert for Randy.

It had been awhile since I've seen him, and I missed him, of course I wouldn't have admitted it to anyone.

Bucky followed me as I squeezed into a row of empty seats.

I still didn't see Randy yet, and I was growing anxious.

In the third row of the second section, I spotted him.

I bit my lip and grabbed Bucky's arm. I squeezed through rows of chairs.

I sat in one directly behind Randy and Howard. I giggled slightly and picked a piece of popcorn. I carefully flicked it towards Randy, but it unfortunately bounced off the back of his seat and smacked Howard directly in the cheek bone. I gulped on a popcorn kernel, and held my breath as Howard twisted back to look at the culprit. Bucky stood still beside me, having nothing to say at the recent occurrences.

I sunk into my seat, trying desperately to play it off. Howard didn't seem to notice Bucky. I couldn't blame him, Bucky was almost completely unrecognizable when he wasn't dressed as the usual band geek which he seemed to wear often, even out of school.

It wasn't long before Howard turned around and focused on the movie screen in front of him.

I sighed in relief, and then sat up slowly.

I looked over to Bucky who seemed to look curious.

I smiled apologetically, and then quickly leaned directly ahead.

"Does this mean, I'll see you in school Monday?" I whispered into Randy's ear.

Randy jumped slightly, startled by my sudden whisper.

He twisted his body to look at me, with a squinted eye.

I giggled and waved awkwardly.

He sighed and turned back to face the front.

"Maybe." He whispered.

The screen was still black, and the dim lights were still on.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, and flicked his ear, in which he looked back at with, obviously utter annoyance.

I shrugged it off as he turned around and slumped into his seat.

The movie screen flickered on, and I slightly flinched as the sudden boom.

The ran a hand through my hair and casually leaned into the seat. I wiped my eyes momentarily as the movie started.

I found myself to be relieved knowing Randy was okay, and that I didn't somehow managed to scare him away. Lately I've been attracting the attention that I didn't necessarily want.

I had wondered when he had decided to go back to school. I had hoped that maybe a little bit of his project had been completed. That way, we could have put the pieces together and called it a day, and get the report and presentation over with.

I didn't pay much attention to the movie as it played through. I often found my eyes wondering, and a silly smile on my face that I had to quickly wipe off as Bucky did notice it.

I signed and decided to at least try to understand the movie.

I jumped quickly and wiped the drool from my mouth as the credits rolled and people immediately stood up and started exiting the theater.

Before anything had registered the seats in front of me were empty, and the dim lights flickers on.

Bucky touched my arm softly, and stood up in which I immediately followed suit.

I wanted to hiss as the light suddenly attacked my eyes and I groaned.

I had wondered at a point if Randy was even here, or if I had dreamed the whole thing.

But I was sure that he was. Bucky seemed uncomfortable as we walked through the theater lobby and the concession stand. I looked down at the small popcorn pieces on the rug.

"So… did you like the movie?" I asked as I ended the silence between the both of us.

Bucky seemed lost in his thoughts as he brought his head up, around the same time that I did.

Bucky shrugged as he seemed once again focused on something else.

"Oh? Oh, uh, yeah." He said, his voice still nasally.

I chuckled and stood in front of him.

I grabbed my pony tail and casually twirled it in my fingers.

"Bucky, what's wrong?" I asked in a breathy voice.

It was quiet again.

Bucky sighed and he shifted his weight slightly.

"How…. How do you know Randy again?" He asked, and looked up at me.

I glared at him, and it felt as if the blood ran to my feet.

In his voice I could hear a twinge of jealousy. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

I could feel my face her hot, and I pulled a few hair strands from my head.

"He's my lit partner." I answered In a monotone.

"We have a project together that is due soon, and we need to start working on it before time runs out." I said softly.

Bucky raised a brow.

"Do you like him?" He asked boldly.

I shot another look at him.

" No…. I don't like him." I said through my teeth.

I held my hands behind my back and clenched my fists. I could feel the slight anger course through me and I breathed through my nose as Bucky nodded and then walked past me.

I kept my eyes straight ahead. I turned on my heels and began to follow him once more.

The sky seemed to have darkened since the movie had started.

I couldn't help but to feel slight regret for accepting the date invitation. I had the feeling Bucky was starting to get the wrong impression.

We both stood in front of each other awkwardly.

"I had fun…" Bucky said through the silence.

"I guess I'll see you in school then." He added.

I didn't say a word. I pressed my lips together and nodded.

Bucky offered an awkward smile before turning slowly and walking down the narrow block.

I kept my eyes narrowed as I glared through his back.

Still feeling angry I turned once more and began walking down the opposite direction.


End file.
